Glimpses of yore

It was in 1967 when Derry Moore visited India for the first time. But the celebrated British lensman “regards his first real visit in 1976” for a friend had suggested that he visit the newly independent nation to feature places that “were in the danger of disappearing”. Little did he know that he would end up documenting remnants of the past — the Colonial legacies and heritage, besides capturing the many facets of a changing India. A fine selection of his 28 monochromatic photographs feature in an ongoing exhibition, ‘In the Shadow of Raj’. Presented by Tasveer, in partnership with Dauble, the riveting images retell the story of a young nation which was at the throes of social, economic and political transformation. These frames, which have been shot in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, evoke a sense of nostalgia and resound with the echoes from a bygone time, as Derry succinctly sums up, “I would call it an atmosphere of another period”.

Excerpts:

How were you drawn towards India? Did you come here with a plan or did the project develop organically?

In 1975, a friend introduced me to Sunita Pitamber. At that time, I was doing quite a lot of work for Architectural Digest and Sunita said I should come to India and photograph some of the palaces as they were in danger of disappearing. Soon after in London I met a friend, Princess Esra Jah who I hadn’t seen for ages and who was married to the Nizam (of Hyderabad). She invited me to Hyderabad and thus I was able to photograph so much in Hyderabad. A friend of my parents, Lord Harewood, gave me an introduction to T.S. Sadasivam and his wife, Subbulakshmi, in Madras (as it was then called). Thanks to them, I visited Madurai. Lord Harewood also introduced me to Jamshed Bhabha in Bombay, who opened many doors in Delhi. I was therefore extremely spoilt – and extremely lucky!

Did the architectural ruins tell you anything about the inherent apathy Indians have towards the preservation of culture? Or, in the post-modern Indian, the nation was too busy rebuilding itself? What were your observations?

At that time, I was too busy trying to capture the places and people to worry about the Indians’ apathy towards their architectural heritage. Moreover, because of the way that India had been isolated by its economic policies after 1947, buildings were being preserved by neglect, rather than destroyed by development. There may have been an ambivalent attitude towards buildings of the colonial period on the part of government, but the economic climate didn’t encourage development and this saved many. I don’t think the buildings that I call hybrid (i.e of mixed influence) were perceived as having any interest; these were at the mercy of any property developer, wishing to exploit their site. Since 1991, this has changed and the pace of “development” (and the accompanying destruction) has multiplied immeasurably.

Did you know very little about India before you set your foot here? As you have earlier mentioned that “the appearance of their inhabitants too surprised me. I had been expecting folkloric looks”. What changed your perception?

Although I found the picturesque looking people, that I had seen in articles and tourist brochures, what fascinated me were the looks of what I term “people of another era”. It’s hard to explain but it was as if I had entered a world of over a hundred years ago. If one looks at old photographs the strong individual personality of people is far more evident. Today, so many people have the anonymous look of crowds seen at international airports.

Why is it important to preserve ‘derelict’ architecture?

I believe it is of vital importance. These buildings represent the history of countries and hold something of their soul. What replaces them is anonymous, inhuman and could exist anywhere in the world, as a visit to 99.9 per cent of cities in the world, that have been “developed” in the past 60 years will provide ample and depressing evidence. One could be in Tokyo, Bangkok, Dubai, Istanbul, Cairo, much of America, North and South, most of the new parts of cities in Europe, most of the cities in China. The list is endless. Sadly, the alliance of property developers and politicians is hard to resist. I would add that to describe these buildings as “derelict architecture” is unfair, as it suggests the fault lies in the buildings, rather than in the lack of means to maintain them.

Why did you choose to shoot them in black and white?

I had looked at 19th-Century photographs of India before my first visit and noticed that one could look at these photographs again and again without getting bored; there was a mystery in them. My test for a good photograph and any work of art is, will it last?

( “In the Shadow of Raj” can be viewed at Bikaner House, New Delhi till May 13.)