Riveting images of despair and hope

Recent examples of nature's fury were the tsunami that shattered Indonesia, Sri Lanka and parts of South India on December 26, 2004 and the devastating Kashmir earthquake on October 8, 2005. Besides these, an intense quake hit the ancient city of Bam in Iran, incidentally on December 26 as well, in the year 2003.

To honour and remember the victims of these natural calamities, Drik organised a two-week long photography exhibition, aptly titled Nature's Fury, beginning from December 26 at the Drik Gallery in Dhanmondi. Internationally acclaimed Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam has taken the photographs of the tsunami and the Kashmir earthquake. Photographs of the Bam earthquake have been taken by noted photographers from Iran.

The exhibition was jointly opened by Gamini Sarath Munasinghe, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Bangladesh, Shahid MG Kiani, Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh, Mohammad Beheshti Monfared, Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran to Bangladesh and Professor Jamilur Reza Choudhury, Vice Chancellor of BRAC University.

All but one of the photographs of tsunami and the Kashmir quake taken by Shahidul Alam are black and white. Facial features and expressions seem to stand out in black and white photographs. This is evident in the image of a little girl at a refugee camp in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. Covered in a shawl, the girl's face is grimy, yet the innocence shattered by the disaster is apparent. Her expression and the piercing eyes are arresting.

An image that maybe too graphic for the weak of heart displays a decomposing body covered with maggots; finger bones are becoming visible as the flesh is falling off. The unfortunate deceased is one of the hundreds who died when the train 'Samudra Devi' was swept away by the waves in Pereliya, Sri Lanka. The bodies were being recovered as the cranes were lifting the train up.

The only colour photograph by Shahidul Alam in the exhibit is of 9-year old Shanika's. The image reminds one of little girl in Spielberg's Schindler's List. Like that girl, Shanika is also in red surrounded by black and white characters. Shanika lost her mother and twin sister in the tsunami, yet her face radiates hope and serenity.

The pastoral photograph of sheep grazing near refugee camps in Haripur shows that life goes on, even after a lethal catastrophe. All the photographs displaying the scenic beauty of the quake-affected area are mesmerising.

The series of photographs of the Bam earthquake begin with bird's eye views of the city (over 2000 years old) that can boast of its exotic architecture. A lot of its structures include forts which were built in the middle ages; most of them were crushed to the ground by the forceful quake. The photographs were taken by Jasem Ghazbanpour and Saeed Mahmoudi Aznaveh. A blurry vision of an ancient edifice gives the image by Ali Reza Karimi Sarimi Hazi a mystique touch.

The image of a woman veiled in black by Zohreh Khosh Namak stands out. The woman is reading the Holy Book; colourful flowers, bowls of fruits and candles adorn her very own sphere in the midst of rubble and chaos. The photograph of a mother in tears holding the image of her infant who is perhaps lost in the tragedy by Hassan Ghaidi is heartrending.

Some of the images are graphic, no doubt but they are unquestionably outstanding. These images not only narrate tales of natural calamities; they showcase incredible human endurance and the drive to survive.

The exhibition is open till January 8, 2006.