Indian photographers reveal the challenges of showcasing India

A picture from Alessio Mamo's series Dreaming Food. Pic/instagram

On July 23, Italian photographer Alessio Mamo's series, Dreaming Food (a conceptual project about hunger issues in India), was showcased on The World Press Photo's Instagram page. It shows Indian children and adults standing in front of piles of food (turkey, fruits, drinks), on a table, with hands covering their eyes. Mamo's reasoning behind the series was that he wanted to address the problem of malnutrition in rural India, while juxtaposing it with the food waste in the West.

That gave way to criticism, likening the series to poverty porn, deeming it exploitative. Mamo later issued an apology, saying, "The only goal of the concept was to let Western people think, in a provocative way, about the waste of food. Maybe it did not work at all, maybe I did it in the wrong way, but I worked honestly and respectfully with all the people involved."

Are these the only kind of images that truly define India for an international audience? Also, is peddling exoticism and poverty porn the only way for an Indian photographer to get noticed internationally? We asked three photographers to share their views on Mamo's series, and a picture each, showing how they are trying to capture India and its issues, in a slightly hatke way.

'You have to make it personal'
Anushree Fadnavis

For Indian photographers, it's always an issue to be taken seriously, internationally, without portraying India in a certain way. The East has always looked up to the West, be it in writing, photography or any other kind of art.

Fadnavis's series on the women's compartments in local trains

Maybe the East needs to do something big, like have an influential photography award, for people to see us differently. The best way to make a picture different is by putting yourself in the picture, tell your own story, and, it will be different.

'Where is my better idea?'
Chirodeep Chaudhuri

I think the picture is in poor taste and badly conceptualised and executed. I think most of it is because of ignorance, and this is the white man's notion of us. It's like I used to see pictures of Venice gondolas and feel like Venetians must think, is that the only way people can see us? Of course, we face this challenge of trying to show India differently.

A picture from Chaudhuri's 2007 series on Indian pay phones, which was titled The One-Rupee Entrepreneur

I don't get it why we as Indians, are still fascinated with events like the Kumbh Mela, and even if we are, how are we doing it differently. The question Indian photographers need to ask is how are they reacting to their own milieu. If I am in the business of ideas, where is my better idea, my counter idea? We need to put out a nuanced image of our own country.

'I will not tell the story you want me to tell'
Amit Madheshiya

[Mamo's] photo is really grotesque in many ways, and deeply problematic. It reminded me of the Bengal famine of 1943, which was an artificial famine created by the British. Everyone was emaciated, and those pictures exist today. The documentation was important, but the gaze was very Western. These are the images the world wants to see of India, and we, Indian artistes, have been struggling with these expectations.

A still by Amit Madheshiya from Madheshiya and Shirley Abraham's Searching for Saraswati, which is about the Saraswati revival plan

Everyone wants the art coming out from India to have the narrative of social justice. In India, it's hard to get funds, and so we go abroad. We (with work partner Shirley Abraham) were once asked by an European lady who was interviewing us for a grant about why weren't we focusing on Coke exploiting farmers in South India. But that didn't interest us. The only way to preserve one's voice is to be purely independent. I will not tell the story you want me to tell.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates