What gives late 19th century photographer Raja Deen Dayal’s work the acclaim it has received? An exhibition showcasing arguably India’s first professional photographer’s works tries to dissect.

Lala Deen Dayal was to Indian photography what his peer Raja Ravi Varma was to painting. As a 20-something civil engineer, Deen Dayal was working at the draughtsman office at the Indore Public Works Department when he heard an ominous rumour — all draughtsmen were to be replaced by photographers. It was 1866. Dayal decided to brush up his photography skills; a subject that he had learnt during his final year in college. A decision that paved the way for Deen Dayal to eke out a successful career in professional photography.

Vikram Sampath, Executive Director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), says: “The heavy Bellow cameras of the 19th century would have been cumbersome. But his photographs are so extensive that they can be the starting point for fleshing out the socio-cultural aspect of that period.” IGNCA is presenting the exhibition Raja Deen Dayal Photographs, a collection of 150 rare period photographs which will be shown in the city for the first time.

Sampath says he can imagine how hard it must have been for Deen Dayal to get people to be photographed, considering the superstitions around the act. “People believed that if photographed, their life span would be reduced.” It was not uncommon for him to break the glass-plate negative in front of the subject after giving them their photographs, probably to assure them that it wouldn’t be used again. But he would have stealthily kept another copy in the archive.
Grand old man

Here was an Indian photographer appreciated by Indian maharajas (the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, in fact, wrote a verse in praise of him) and British Viceroys. His photographs were exhibited to great reviews in international exhibitions. He was appointed the court photographer for Hyderabad (1885); Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad, conferred on him the title Musawwir Jung Bahadur (the Bold Warrior Photographer) and referred to him as Raja Deen Dayal. In 1897, Queen Victoria granted him the Royal Warrant, which meant he could cover the Delhi Dubar (1903). He had flourishing studios in Secunderabad, Indore and Bombay that were operated by his firm Deen Dayal & Sons. And even after his death (1905), his fifth generation has photo studios in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Not bad for a man who was born (1844) in a small town near Meerut.

Luck and talent

In 1870, when Deen Dayal was hired by the Archeological Survey of India, his brief was to capture 78 monuments of Central India. The technique used was refreshingly different. The monuments stood out against the sky as he captured them from a low angle, making them imposing and grand. Some, like the Gwalior Fort, had an extraordinary view of the sharp precipice below the steep path leading up to the main entrance. The portraits of the monuments form an extensive collection of places across India.

Deen Dayal quit his government job to pursue photography when he realised that the albums prepared by him on Indian monuments were a hit with the British officers returning to Britain. Sir Henry Daly appointed him the official photographer for the Prince of Wales’s tour of India in 1875. He started accompanying the Viceroys, Lord Dufferin and Lord Elgin, on their tours. His interactions with Indian royalty gave him unmatched access to their world. By being the court photographer of the Nizam, Deen Dayal secured a generous patron and an easy access to British officers in the cantonment. He was probably the first Indian photographer to have a Zanana (ladies only) studio at Hyderabad which was run by a specially-appointed employee, Kenny Levick.

From glass plates to digital

Deen Dayal’s family had preserved the glass-plate negatives with history recorded on them. Those negatives required long exposures and hours of work. Each comes with documentation of the place and year, apart from the name of the royals or nobles. The commoners were categorised broadly with captions such as ‘Maratha’ and ‘Brahmin’. IGNCA has reproduced the originals after the entire collection of about 3,000 negatives were handed to them by the family in 1989. These were then digitised and the first exhibition took place in New Delhi in 2010. For all aficionados of photography, this show remains the best place to know how it all began for one photographer, arguably the first Indian professional photographer.

Raja Deen Dayal Photographs, 10 am to 5 pm till July 20, NGMA

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Entertainment> Lounge / by Jayanthi Madhukar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / June 23rd, 2014

Taj Mahal of India is widely recognized as “the jewel of art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”. It’s a unique monument built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and one of the best examples of Islamic architecture.

Millions visit India to get glimpses of this unique architectural beauty and this includes a large number from Middle East. How about seeing the beauty of Taj Mahal here itself in Kuwait?

Inspired by the architecture of Taj Mahal, Kuwait has designed a mosque exactly like Taj Mahal, a replica. The mosque is a bigger version of India’s Taj Mahal. It’s 3 times bigger.

Sadeeqa Fatimatul Zahra Mosque, a prayer place for the Kuwaitis, looks similar to India’s Taj Mahal from the outside. Located at Block 6, Abdullah Al-Mubarak area, West of Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, the mosque is already gaining a reputation as one of Kuwait’s most distinctive buildings and is called the “Taj Mahal of Kuwait”.

It’s learned that Hassan Johar, a Member of Parliament, who was behind this unique project here, received the blessing of the Indian embassy before building the mosque.

Internal design of the mosque differs from the original. It consists of carvings of verses from the Quran. The four minarets and central dome of the mosque are adorned with brass crescents. The main prayer area is at the ground floor with library and utilities. It has a separate prayer hall for the women in the first floor. The Mosque was officially opened for the public in 2011.

The beauty of the mosque in middle of the desert is mesmerizing. It’s a proud feeling for all Indians here in Kuwait to witness a replica of the Taj Mahal in Kuwait. Those who have not seen the Taj Mahal in India, they can now see it in Kuwait.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> NRI> Contributions> Contributors / by Deepika Nambiar, TOI Contributor / April 30th, 2014