Colours of life
NANDINI NAIR
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Dheeraj Paul's photographs go beyond the predictable.
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FLYING HIGH One of Dheeraj Paul's pictures mounted at Alliance Francaise.
His first photograph was published on the front page of The Statesman. It was an aerial photograph of Old Delhi from Jama Masjid. He was eleven-year-old.
This is Dheeraj Paul. Photography literally runs in his family. His father and brother are noted press photographers. His uncle is Raghu Rai.
Known for his photography of food and architecture, Dheeraj Paul recently mounted a solo exhibition that proved his ability to spot the wonderful in the obvious. But while some photographs are creative, a few are simplistic postcards. Mounted at Alliance Francaise, the 30 frames capture different vignettes of reality. The exhibition includes both colour and black and white photos. Some of the black and white photographs are especially enigmatic. Paul says that he shoots in both mediums.
"Where it is a matter of contrasts or graphics, I choose black and white. But for people, or places like Jodhpur, I prefer colour," he adds, "I love both, and am partial to neither."
Tell-tale pictures
In a telling photograph, a barefoot man stands outside the compound of a school. Within the compound, students stand in neat lines at assembly. The texture is deliberately grainy. The caption reads, "Wishful Thinking". This single photograph shows the divide between the literate and illiterate. It captures aspirations for literacy. For this reason, this photo from Haryana is award-winning. Many photos prove that photography for Dheeraj Paul is capturing the "decisive moment". In "An Old Barber Shop", the barber and his client are surrounded with archaic shaving tools. Using only available light, the photograph has the antique quality of albumen prints. Paul reveals, "The barber and his client became aware of me and my camera only after the first two shots. That is how I like it."
A pro at photographing architecture, his shots of Jantar Mantar and the stairs of the Jodhpur museum are dramatic. Paul's interest in photography started with accompanying his father on work. He recounts, "As a child, I used to go with my father when he went to shoot at Nehru Stadium or the zoo. Today my nine-year-old son is also an award-winning photographer. Our house is like a photo studio, filled with photographs and equipment."
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