Email
Print
ShareMumbai: Nobody knew the worth of trunkfuls of stuff that photographer Kulwant Roy left behind when he died in the mid-80s. The trunks are inherited by Aditya Arya, a professional advertising photographer today. But somehow Aditya never opened them up all these years. And when he did, he discovered an invaluable treasure trove of 10,000 rare photographs which document the complete history of Indian independence.
The photographs feature Indian leaders from the past century, right from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to Mohammed Ali Jinnah. The historic photographs also showcase those of the All India Congress sessions, sessions of the Muslim League, Cripps Mission, the Voluntary Movement, Simla Conference of 1946 after which the interim government was formed, discussions of the partition plan known as 3rd June Plan and the special session of the AICC at which the partition was accepted.
Satish Sahney, chief executive, Nehru Center, informs, "Some of the pictures are so rare that it really is invaluable to have them today. There are also many unknown leaders pictured with Nehru and Gandhi. We may not know these leaders today but they did play a crucial role in the Independence of India. We need a lot of research in identifying them."
Sahney really likes one picture which has Lord Mountbatten sitting in the centre with the leaders from the Congress, including Nehru, Jivatram Kripalani and Sardar Patel; Sikh leader Baldev Singh and Muslim leaders including Jinnah and Shawkat Ali on either sides discussing the crucial partition of India on June 2, 1947.
Unattended, several of the photographs had been damaged. It was an uphill task for Aditya Arya to resurrect and restore the visual archives of Kulwant Roy at his Gurgaon studio. "Photography as a profession in those days was not an easy job.
All photographers were poorly paid and led a hand to mouth existence. Kulwant Roy's works almost documents the entire history of Indian Independence. I believe it's like a gift for the entire country. It's very strange that we have hardly honoured any of the photographers of that era," he says.
One of Arya's pictures feature Gandhi, Nehru and Patel sitting together at the time of Independence. In the background is a drawing on the wall which shows the broken shackles of a poor man and the word gulaami inscribed along with it. "This picture is so symbolic of the spirit of Independent India. It looks as if the three leaders are making fresh plans, planning for the free times to come ahead in the future," he remarks.
Catch the photo exhibition on Jawaharlal Nehru at Nehru Centre, Worli, on till November 9.
