Celebrating the Indian woman

Art historian and photographer Stephen P Huyler's book, Daughters of India, conveys the strength and resourcefulness of women who find themselves in challenging situations

Celebrating the Indian woman

Art historian and photographer Stephen P Huyler's book, Daughters of India, conveys the strength and resourcefulness of women who find themselves in challenging situations

Looks like the whole world is fascinated with Incredible India. The latest is an American male who has profiled 20 women in his book Daughters of India. Stephen P Huyler, art historian, cultural anthropologist and photographer, has put in 250 photographs along with engaging profiles of women working in the rice paddies of southern India to the plantation of the Himalayas.

How did you approach your subjects?
I wanted to capture the pulse of Indian women. I chose women who had not received public acclaim. Although each woman is exceptional in the sense that she has been singled out, I hope collectively these portraits give a solid and informed introduction to women in India.

Why the number 20?
I actively sought to fulfill the requirement of diverse identities and yet tried to find women and stories that could, when combined in one volume, express common threads of self-motivation and resourcefulness, often in the face of their deeply adverse social and physical conditions. However, as the chapters attempt to convey a broad identity, the book includes some affluent, privileged and emancipated women along with those who are battling oppression.

You are a photographer and a cultural anthropologist. Has it happened that you first took a beautiful photograph and then went about finding your story?
Over decades of work in this field, I have been exposed to virulent reality. Like the average foreigner, I was at first enchanted by picturesque India, but as the interviews progressed I was struck by the incredible lives of these women. I have over 2,50,000 photographs of India. The book could only use a few. I admit that photographs have been selected in order to entice people into reading further. The look of the book is intentionally beguiling - to lure people who might not otherwise be open to reading about the severity of conditions. But, let's not forget that it also shows that women in oppressive situations create expressions of stark beauty in their daily lives. Mine is not a book that sugarcoats reality. It is, rather, a volume that conveys the strength and resourcefulness of women in quite varied and often challenging lives.

Did you get emotionally involved in the lives of the people interviewed? Are you in touch with the people whose lives are discussed in your book?
Of course I am very emotionally involved with the people I interview. How could I not be? I have been invited into their homes. I do not do this work lightly. It comes as a result of being asked, again and again, to tell others the stories of these people. I would never take a photograph or a personal note without being given permission to do so. Consequently, I have a deep commitment to these individuals. I have remained in touch with these women and am thrilled to be able to give a copy of this new book, Daughters of India, to each of the women profiled.

Do you see similarities between the lives of women in India and in other countries?
In many ways these stories are universal. I singled out the women of India for two reasons: I've enjoyed a rare access to documenting their lives and I am constantly made aware when I travel in western countries how Indian women are viewed almost solely as victims, not for their broader personalities or for the way that they address their issues individually. I want to help correct this image.

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