A photo book by legendary British photographer Lord Snowdon brings alive the faces that show how India is no more about snake charmers, but stake charmers

A photo book by legendary British photographer Lord Snowdon brings alive the faces that show how India is no more about snake charmers, but stake charmers

Once upon a time, Tony Armstrong Jones made walking sticks that doubled as crystal sets and torches, and a burglar alarm for his food cupboard. Now 80, he captures people who carry those sticks and sets, and protects his cover-bound celebrity closet with a characteristic composure that no other photo-book can steal.

George Fernandes, POLITICIAN (left): George had just returned from
four days of extensive and tiring campaigning when Snowdon invited him
to choose his favourite room for this portrait. He walked into his bedroom
where he lay down, and promptly fell asleep. Snowdon pressed the
shutter and there it is, a much talked about masterpiece.
All pics and excerpt courtesy Snowdon

Welcome to India By Snowdon. The man who's been there, done that, and still going strong, after decades of documentary making, fashion photographing and Emmy Award-winning. The unmistakable Lord of the lens, in his latest chronicle, catches India's change-makers as they come.

Masks off, men in. Flamboyant business tycoon Dr Vijay Mallya is barefoot, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit sits stone-steady on a rocking chair, others bow to Mahatma Gandhi and stare into space, as if waiting for Godot. And no, his work isn't about desi demigods dolled up to look good; it ain't no celeb-spotter. It's about an India beyond its done-to-death medieval magnificenceu00a0-- one of evolved evangelists and their individualistic ideas that turned around what tradition stood for.

Indian icons, back to back
The book begins with a portrait of the Khemka family, kids et al. It was conceptualised by The Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation in association with Photoink, a Delhi-based photo agency-cum-gallery. A little further, into the foreword, and writer-producer Victoria Charlton explains how Snowdon needs plenty of information about any project he undertakes. Be it politicians, artists, industrialists, actors, sportspersons or environmentalists, India's icons beam proudly from the pages at their profoundest, Polaroid best. Stalwarts, in all their subtlety and strength.

Forget about pictures speaking a thousand words. These speak of vulnerability and vision. Architect Charles Correa leads the pic pack, perhaps symbolising the new India, Atal Behari Vajpayee sits hand to chin, Khushwant Singh roles a tri-coloured moodha with his right leg, and Mrinal Sen follows. Elsewhere, Pandit Ravi Prasad Chaurasia is at the feet of his flute God, Krishna, while Amar Singh replicates his poker-straight portrait in the background. A glossy garland of his publications surrounds Philip Matthew of Malayala Manorama, and Mr Prime Minister looks impeccable. New faces like those of Binita and William Bissell of Fabindia come into viewer territory for perhaps the first time. And designer Tarun Tahiliani is framed in a fitting session with a male model in a position, which, err... works overtime for the voyeuristic mind.

2012 vs. 212
The former is about doom that they warned you of, on-screen, and the latter, the number of pages that make the future look pretty and progressive. And not without reason. The portraits in this book freeze essence over formu00a0-- there aren't any chapters based on celebrities, but celebrities based on chapters that helped the country come of age. It is knowledge at its quietest, richest, understated best. As a line within its pages elaborates, the mood varies "from the mundane to the arcane".

Lord Snowdon travelled all over the country to shoot his starry subjects in their workplaces and homes, in a wheelchair (he is frail and has to use a wheelchair because of a recurrence of childhood polio). Hours and days through daylight and dusk; since the time Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer Aviator was 'Coming Soon', as PVR czar Ajay Bijli's photograph stands testimony. The shutterbug's favourite settings, for some reason, seem to be royal swings and rocking chairs. But in movement lies the magic; perfect stillness is but a function of constant flux.u00a0

The portraits, captioned with names and the organisations they stand for, are interspersed with nine essays around aspects that make India what she is. Mani Shankar Aiyer talks about his inspirationsu00a0-- Gandhi, Nehru and Tagoreu00a0-- while Sunil Khilnani muses over photography that defines the soul of India. Thankfully, they are personal, not preachy, and so make up well for the silence of the snapshots. Put in three simple words, the stuff in there is plain, pristine and poignant.

If you need a break from the lens overkill, the mini biographies by Malvika Singh are bound to enlighten you, gently and poetically. This doubles as a personality index, complete with thumbnail images for ready reference. And then, there's a chronology of events of the photographer's life, if you're interested. From teens to travellers who are blank about India's contemporary change-makers, everyone who is into cognitive connoisseurship will cherish this buy. For legends rarely come at coffee table cost.

India by Snowdon
105 colour illustrations Hardbound with dust jacket
Published by: The Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation
Price: Rs 5,000, available at leading bookstores in the capital and at a 20% discount through Photoink
Email: mail@photoink.net
Exhibition on till Jan 31 at Photoink, MGF Hyundai Building, Jhandewalan