15 April,2016 08:15 AM IST | | Krutika Behrawala
Head to an exhibit to get a glimpse of the life and times of Dr Ambedkar through archives and clicks by children of conservancy workers
A frame captures a larger-than-life portrait of Dr BR Ambedkar overlooking a general store in the city. In another, a boy and girl stand beside his garlanded photograph in a Mumbai chawl.
These, along with 34 other photographs, are part of The Blue Icon - Identity And Emergence Of The Blue Insignia exhibition, which opened to the public last evening, on the occasion of Dr Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary.
Presented by Dr Ambedkar Institute of Social and Economic Change and Photography Promotion Trust (PPT), the exhibition celebrates the social reformer's life, significance of his contributions and the remnants of his memories in the lives of the Dalit community he fought for.
The photographs are by the children of conservancy workers, who are part of a free one-year diploma course in photography, initiated by PPT in alliance with Xavier Institute of Communication (XIC).
"During the shoot of my book, In Search Of Dignity And Justice, I interacted with conservancy workers in the city, who hoped for a better future for their children and education was the solution.
Rao Bahadur SK Bole shares a light moment with Dr BR Ambedkar, who made him sit on his lap, with Mai next to him, when the former couldn't find a place at a function organised in Mumbai on November 18, 1951
So, we decided to come up with a technical course for them and in fact, a couple of students have become professional photographers too," says Sudharak Olwe, documentary photographer and founder of PPT, who has co-curated the exhibition with German photographer, Helena Schaetzle.
The exhibition also features 36 archived photographs of Ambedkar. "These were sourced from the Photo Division and the Ambedkar family. Some time back, I had restored them digitally because these are over 50 years old," he adds.
The week-long exhibit will also feature portfolio review and presentation sessions where aspiring photographers can show their work to the curators for guidance.
