Front Page

Chari, veteran photographer, passes away

K. Narayanachari

CHENNAI: K. Narayanachari, retired Chief Photographer, The Hindu, passed away on Friday after a brief illness. He was 85.

Born in 1923 in Chidambaram, Chari, as he was fondly known among colleagues and peers, had his school education in Triplicane. He joined The Hindu in 1938 as a waterman. He joined the Army in 1942, doing duty in Burma and Chittagong. He received four war service medals. This stint had a key role in his future career, as he picked up the basics of photography from his superior in the Army.

Mr.Narayanachari re-joined The Hindu in 1947 as a dark room assistant and steadily moved up the hierarchy to retire as Chief Photographer in 1987.

Acknowledged as one of India’s finest and most productive press photographers, Chari believed that imagination, innovation, and total dedication were the essential qualities of a true professional photographer. Energetic and fiercely competitive, he did not hesitate to elbow his way forward in a crowd.

In his long career, Chari has captured images from events where the press was barred. He covered major events, including the Andhra Pradesh floods in 1952, the Ariyalur train accident in 1956, and the bomb blast at the old Meenambakkam airport in 1984. In keeping with the style of The Hindu in those days, he never received a byline for his pictures. However, his photographs were credited in Frontline, a publication of The Hindu group.

Chari was a pioneer in sports photography in India. He covered 106 cricket Test matches and 15 one-day internationals in a professional career that spanned more than five decades. At a time when photographic equipment was heavy and unwieldy, he used to climb trees to get the right perspective. He often spoke of the qualities of alertness and anticipation which he believed were essential in a photographer. “Anyone covering sports must be thorough with the game and be quick at his job, as a fraction of a second’s delay will make all the difference,” he used to say.

Mr. Narayanachari’s dedication and diligence in covering events won him several honours, including recognition from the Board of Control for Cricket in India of his contributions to cricket during the board’s golden jubilee celebrations.

He was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in news and sports photography by Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi during a function organised by the Tamil Nadu Press Photographers’ Association in September 2006.

His corneas were donated to Sankara Nethralaya in keeping with his wishes.

Chari is survived by his wife, Rangamani, two sons, including N.Sridharan, Chief Photographer, The Hindu, and four daughters.

This is K. Narayanachari’s much-talked-about action photograph of the controversial run-out of left-hander Alvin Kallicharan in the second innings of the fourth Test at Madras on January 15, 1975. Umpire Satyaji Rao first turned down the appeal and then reversed his decision. India won the Test comfortably. At the time (when there was no question of TV replays), it was held that Chari’s revealing photograph had the effect of moderating the chagrin in the West Indian camp over the run-out. The picture seemed to suggest that Kallicharan may have been out of his crease when the ball uprooted the stump.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu