This exhibition in Mumbai sheds light on two sisters and their photography

The root of the word amateur lies in the Latin word for love amare In its pure form it referred to an individualrsquos love for an art beyond functional benefits So Debalina Mazumder and Manobina Roy fit the ancient definition of the word Curators Sabeena Gadihoke Mallika Leuzinger and TapatiGuha Thakurtarsquos travelling exhibition Twin Sisters with Cameras seeks to bring this love to lightldquoAs a practising cameraperson I was interested in the legacy of women photographers of the periodrdquo shares Gadihoke whose documentary Three Women and a Camera 1998 centred on Homai Vyarawalla Sheba Chachhi and Dayanita Singh It was during this search that she came across the story of the identical twins Debalina Mazumder and Manobina Roy and their photographsPhotograph of Aparajita daughter of Manobina Roy standing above the BombayPoona Highway mid 1960s by Manobina RoyldquoI met them in the early 2000s and did detailed interviews after which I published an early article Meanwhile Tapati GuhaThakurta had worked on the collection of Debalina in Kolkata and Leuzinger had also researched them for her PhDrdquo she shares The trio came together to receive a grant from PhotoSouthAsia that led to the first exhibition in Kolkata back in 2022Privilege and purdahGrowing up in the principality of Ramnagar of then Benares State Debalina and Manobina received a camera from their father Benode Behari Sen Roy Sen Roy was tutor to the royal family and a member of the Royal Photographic Society of Britain shares GadihokeTrafalgar Square London c1959 by Debalina MazumderWhile most women in the kingdom were in the kingdom were in purdah the twins found freedom in photography The camera mdash a Kodak Brownie mdash captured the world around them The softness and naturalism in their photographs is complete with a polished aesthetic ldquoIn her handwritten memoir Manobina talks about them growing up in Benarasrsquo Peeli Kothi and observing natural light They had a gift for shooting in natural lightrdquo observes GadihokeThe Mumbai connectionJawaharlal Nehru by Manobina RoyThe marriage of Manobina Roy to Bimal Roy brings another incredible coincidence to light The exhibition also features some photographs of the sisters taken by the filmmaker ldquoIt is not known if his visual style influenced them But they would have watched his films I watched Udayer Pathey 1944 that he made for New Theatres and was struck by some similarities in the posesrdquo the curator admits In fact Gadihoke reveals that Bimal Royrsquos recces including a visit to Bhowali for Madhumati 1951 were moments when Manobina would also step out with her camera However there were other influences tooPeer appreciationThe Archer Santiniketan c1936 by Debalina Sen RoyldquoHowever research into works of female photographers in India is difficult Especially because many photographed within the family and were considered amateursrdquo she points out This does not mean the work by the sisters remained hidden The duo was actively involved in the travelling exhibitions of the United Provinces Amateur Photographic Association UAPA Debalina would go on to be chairperson of the Photography Association of Bengal in the 1980sIn the early years they would send out their works through the Postal Portfolio to exhibitions ldquoThese were viewed and critiqued by peers In fact for the Mumbai edition we have a collection of these letters alongside some of the photographsrdquo the curator revealsThe light of their worldOne thing that is clear is the sistersrsquo ability to tell the story around light ldquoThey were both wonderful at portraits Manobinarsquos work is known for its straight lines and tones and Debalina for landscapes However they also overlap It is hard to tell their works apartrdquo the curator tells us The use of light to create atmosphere in the photographs is also a definitive signatureTapati GuhaThakurta Mallika Leuzinger and Sabeena GadihokeBeing born in a prestigious family also offered the twin sisters access to personalities They photographed Rabindranath Tagore Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and VK Krishna Menon among others Recalling an anecdote of the meeting with Nehru Gadihoke says ldquoAt one point he asked Manobina if this was the right location She replied ldquoSir I am doing a portrait Have you heard of Yousuf Karshrdquo Karsh was one of the most famous portrait photographers of the era She knew her artrdquoThis India ldquoDreamrdquo of a boy sitting in a country boat looking at a ship and dreaming of sailing in a ship 1940s by Manobina RoyThen there are the photographs of the children mdash soft natural and yet with a defined visual grammar ldquoIt is only right that we wind up the edition in Mumbai We started in Kolkata where one sister Debalina lived and wrapped it up here where the other livedrdquo she concludesFrom Today 4 pm to 9 pmTill October 26 12 pm to 8 pmAt Dilip Piramal Art Gallery NCPA Nariman Point