The Hindu Business Line : Central figures

UNICEF has launched an art gallery in Bhopal for the artists and photographers of Madhya Pradesh who are experiencing the changes taking place in society and expressing them through various mediums.

The gallery started off with an exhibition of works by noted photographer Prakash Hathvalne. UNICEF state representative Hamid Al Bashir said, “Along with nature, changes are taking place in society continuously. Sensitive people feel them in th eir own way. This gallery is dedicated to persons who are worried about society, who long for a change and who are particularly working for women and children. A chance will be provided to different persons every month.”

Hathvalne is one such photojournalist who has seen not only the city but the whole nation through the eyes of his camera.

His photos have the mixed colours of the joys and sorrows of life. In one photograph, Hathvalne depicts a village girl concentrating in a classroom, while another photograph captures the toil of a woman walking miles in search of fuel wood.

The brimming delight of tribal boys participating in the Bhagoria festival of Jhabua, the bashfulness of a bride blushing behind the veil and myriad other emotions are framed in his photographs. The photos are also a unique blend of tradition and modernism spanning two generations. Hathvalne has also lived amongst the followers of the Ramnami sect in Chhattisgarh to give a first-hand account of their way of living. The Ramnami Panth comprises Dalits who are Rama worshippers and it does not believe in Brahmins as a medium for worshipping god. For thousands of years, Dalits and other untouchables were prevented by the higher castes from even mouthing the name of Lord Rama. In the 1890s the Dalits of Raigarh, Bilaspur and Raipur rebelled and said enough was enough; they decided to get ‘Rama’ tattooed all over the body.

This sect congregates at Shivarinarayan on the banks of the Mahnadi rive and for three days the air reverberates with the chants of Lord Rama’s name. The Ramnamis are simple, poor people who are strictly vegetarian. Liquor consumption is also prohibited amongst them.

Prakash Hathvalne.

Hathvalne says their numbers today amount to just a few hundred and therefore it was important to tell the world about them.

However, he says his best work came about when he was working among the women who make salt in Kachcha. “I learnt what hardships a photographer has to face. I had to spend hours on a small bottle of water for sustenance.” He also learnt of the problems these women faced while making something as commonplace as salt.

His photos have been published in Time, LA Times, Independent and Telegraph. He has also held several exhibitions in India and abroad. China’s Folklore Photographic Association will also honour him this year.

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