India shot in transition

The face of modern India is ever-changing. Where else will you find a posh locality such as the Bandra Kurla Complex and a large adjacent slum co-existing? It just points to the fact that India is in a period of transition. Documenting this rapid change is photojournalist Prashant Panjiar, who has come up with an exhibition of 64 pictures titled Pan India — a shared habitat that subtly reflect the changing soul of the country.

The exhibition has been shot on a panoramic camera and thus the title Pan India is apt. On one hand, it implies the technicality of the pictures and on another, the country. Panjiar has taken a decade to work on these pictures. “2000 onwards, a huge amount of construction has taken place in majority of Indian cities. My pictures largely try to unfold the story of Indians and their thoughts at a time when the country is racing towards disproportional growth,” he says.

Panjiar’s collection is simple yet significant. It also highlights how a period of change gives rise to social turmoil. “People like us who belong to the middle and the upper-middle class have a habit of believing that the entire habitat of our surroundings belongs to us.

The coming up of a mall in a locality is always considered progressive because we will get to shop. But no one considers the fact that the construction of the mall may be rendering people living in the slums homeless,” he remarks.

With his images, the photojournalist suggests that different sections of society have a right to co-exist. He explains, “The government had tried to remove the jhuggi and jhoparies from a locality in New Delhi. But residents had a problem with finding domestic helps. The concept of shared habitat is a necessity. “

Pan India — a shared habitat exhibits at the ICIA Gallery, Kala Ghoda, from January 25 to February 3.