United colours of India

From a symbol of sovereignty to a powerful tool of expression in a democracy, the tricolour's hues and moods have been captured in an evocative photo journey

From a symbol of sovereignty to a powerful tool of expression in a democracy, the tricolour's hues and moods have been captured in an evocative photo journey

The idea was novel. The experience, insightful. Ask V Geetha, one of the authors at Tara Books who worked on The Flag, a photographic telling of the Indian tricolour "We have always been fascinated by photographs that are featured in India's dailies on some aspect of public life either national celebrations, election time activities and so on. These often-unknown photographers have a sense of the Indian street that is so acute and warmly sympathetic. We wanted to work with them, and their sense of life, politics, society and culture."


Dinesh Gupta, Bikaner, 2007

She adds that of the many things that moved them (the editors), the most poignant were pictures of poor and malnourished children selling the tricolour on street corners before Independence Day or Republic Day "We asked ourselves, what could the nation mean to someone so young, beyond the few rupees that the sales of these flags fetch. This became a larger question of how ordinary Indians relate to their flag. Soon enough, we had a sense of a visual story of everyday nationhood."

Each of the 68 photographs reflects a refreshing story. Edited by M Lakshman, a former Press Trust of India photographer, he coordinated with 30 press photographers from across the country "We received hundreds of entries, and with Lakshman's assistance, our photo editor, Helmut Wolf chose those that were featured in the book. We wanted to ensure we chose at least one of the photos of all the photographers who sent in their pictures and we more or less did so."u00a0

While choosing each image, the publishers wanted to feature as many visual stories as possible. No wonder then that as one flips through the book, it's possible to witness several ways of relating to the flag: celebration, commerce, sentimentality, sadness and labour. FF

The Flag, India Visual Series, Edited by M Lakshman, Tara Books, Rs 500. Available at
leading books stores.