Colourful images from Rajasthan

A girl at the Mansingh Palace at Udaipur. Photo: Apurba

* The scene of an exquisite sunset has a man leading a camel across the desert of Jaisalmer.

* An old man with a bright turban wears his years gracefully. Though the wrinkles reveal his age, he is a picture of silent strength.

* A colourfully decked woman with traditional jewellery poses for the camera in Jaisalmer.

These fascinating photographs of Rajasthan, India, have came to Dhaka courtesy the North South University Photography Club (NSUPC). Titled: 'Rajasthan: Where History Lives', the four day exhibition concluded yesterday. The exhibit represented the collective work of 28 photographers in the course of their 16-day field trip to the Indian state .

Covering places such as Jaipur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Ghanerao village, the young photographers were wonder struck by the explosion of colour everywhere--the people's attire, the palaces, the forts. The visit was also a study in contrasts. As Ahsan Ahmed Chowdhury, president of the NSUPC and a final year student of BBA at the University, pointed out:, ' I was struck by the diversity of Rajasthan. While Jaipur is a capital city with modern architecture, there is also the tribal Ghanerao village, near Jaisalmer.'

The photographers had differing experiences on their field trip to Rajasthan. Some complained about the camera-shy people, while others had a grouse about the food. As Moinul Islam, the ex-president of the NSUPC and final year student of BBA, asserts, 'The people were conservative. In fact it was easier to film the tribals than the town people.'

For Mehruba Reza, a first year student of BBA, this was her first trip with the club. Though it was fascinating to see the brightly attired Rajasthanis, it was hard work, she says. In addition to shooting, the photographs were evaluated for two hours a day. The aim was to iron out any problems that may have arisen in the course of the shooting. 'Among the techniques we learnt from our seniors were framing, shutter speed and aperture,' says Mehruba.

The students used state-of-the-art technology on their field trip. According to Ahsan, the 10 cameras were Nikon F 80, Nikon FM 2, Minolta. 'The advantage of the Nikon camera is that one can focus automatically on the subject. However, the manual focus was available for people who wanted the facility,' says Ahsan.

Previous field trips have taken the NSUPC to diverse locations. In 2001, the group went to Nepal. Subsequently the Club went to India in 2002 (to places such as Mumbai, Goa, Mysore, Chennai and Ooty) and Bhutan in 2003. Recalling these trips, Ahsan says, 'While Bhutan had the natural beauty of sky and clouds, Rajasthan was colourful and vibrant.'

The ultimate aim of the photography exhibition is to prepare the club members for an International Inter-University Exhibition to be held in January 2005, at Shilpakala Academy. Previously two shows have been held at Drik gallery. The aspiring photographers can look forward to brighter times as they explore new horizons through the lens.