"In India"

On 1/17/11 I wrote about going to the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit at SFMOMA and how impressed and moved I was by the array of this artist's photographs representing so many years in so many places around the world. Before I left the museum, I bought one of the photographer's books, "In India" (Thames & Hudson, 1987), in the museum bookstore. Ever since, I have been poring over these amazing 105 black and white photographs taken in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. They are both beautifully composed and carefully observant of people; almost always, the focus is people. Some are famous (e.g., Gandhi); some are maharajas; most are "ordinary" people on the streets, in shops, washing clothes in the river, studying classical dance, fishing, and much more. As some of you know, I spent much of my childhood in India, during the 1950s and 1960s, so these photographs are particularly evocative for me, especially those taken in the south of India, where we lived; the names Hyderabad and Madurai bring back specific memories of visits and events there. I know I will continue to look at these photographs again and again. The book includes a foreword by the famed film director Satyajit Ray, as well as an introduction by Yves Vequand. For anyone interested in India or simply in beautiful, perceptive photography of human beings in all their variety, I highly recommend this book.