A common phenomenon of recent time, especially since the advent of the internet and smartphone, has been the profligacy of photographs. Digital media, inexpensive access to technologies, local, overseas, and online learning opportunities, high demand stemming from needs in varied contexts and events (from international sports to weddings) have endowed aspiring photographers with potential for expression and circulation.
It was not always so, however, in our part of Asia. Indeed, getting one’s photographs done was expensive, and was often limited to official purposes (eg, applying for passports) in post-independent Bangladesh. It would have been rarer and often exclusive to the elite in undivided Bengal. Photography as an art or a profession or even a hobby would not have been too common in an economically exploited and deprived region.
Filmmaker and researcher Naeem Mohaiemen’s recent book, his second in successive years, Banglar Alokchitrer Bastobota Obhijan (Bengal Photography’s Reality Quest), is exactly on this topic: The historical development of photography in Bengal. Looking through the lenses of the artists, it chronicles social and political conditions and issues confronted on both sides of the border.
Divided roughly into 13 chapters with about 80 images it is a rich collage of our history of the past century: Division of Bengal, colonialism, pre-Partition Dhaka, Pakistan and post-independent period, West Bengal, impacts of developments, evolution of photography and art institutions. Mohaiemen’s research on photographs and films have always been compelling. This book is no different. It draws readers to contemplate unusual, less explored circumstances, contexts - the story behind the photos and their shooters -- to consider the present challenges or status, and with messages for ways forward.
Less familiar pioneers
Many cultural enthusiasts would be familiar with Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin (1914 -1976) and his contributions, in particular setting up the School of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka. I wonder how many, across the generations, would be equally familiar with Golam Kasem Daddy (1894-1998), a pioneer of photography in Bengal who took up this vocation without financial backing and almost against social expectations of colonial-era Muslims. Some in art circles consider him a pioneer of modern photography in Bangladesh. Others attribute a foundational role to Manzoor Alam Beg (enjoying the title of “Alokchitracharya” to parallel Abedin’s “Shipacharya”). Daddy had an immense passion for the craft and was the founder of the Camera Recreation Club where others in the Dhaka intelligentsia, including Begart Institute of Photography founder Manzoor Alam Beg (who gave him the moniker “Daddy”), poet Sufia Kamal, and painter Qamrul Hassan (1921-1988) gathered frequently.
Mohaiemen confers a Latin adjective sui generis (of its own kind) on Daddy, who was a photo artist, storyteller, teacher, and organizer. Daddy’s work and photos cover both sides of Bengal as he had spent pre-Partition time in Calcutta and migrated to the eastern side after Partition. Mohaiemen summarizes research by Shahadat Parvez and others on Daddy, analyzes socio-economic and religious contexts which may have constrained his expression and opportunities. For example, the Bengali Muslim audience-targeted publication Saugat would accept short stories but rarely photos; For images of women, they preferred snapshots from Iran or Turkey. Mohaiemen notes that Daddy did not focus on political images, despite the strong momentum of anti-British agitations across Bengal in the first part of the twentieth century.
There are two significant chapters devoted to Manzoor Alam Beg (1931-1998) and Sayeeda Khanam (1937-2020). Beg, whose work is also featured on the cover of the book, set up Begart Institute of Photography (1960) and founded the Bangladesh Photographic Society (1976), as he firmly felt a need to create training and learning opportunities for youth, and helped young photographers finding placements and photography jobs.
Beg organized photo societies, competitions, newsletters, and wrote about photography to inspire young photographers. He had written in Report on Reprography (London, 1968), British Review (1968), and regular newsletters. It was due to his strong urge to teach the youth that he published a book in Bengali, Adhunik Photography (Modern Photography), in Calcutta in 1974. The manuscript was ready in 1969 but publication was delayed due to the pan-Pakistan uprising that toppled Ayub Khan, and then our war for independence. Sadly, though, as the book was treated as an “import from Calcutta” in Bangladesh, the price was steep. Apparently it was reprinted multiple times in West Bengal without Beg’s permission, and he did not receive appropriate royalties.
Beg has inspired many, including some who went on to write their own books on photography. He believed in teaching students how to use “pens and cameras.” Mohaiemen opined that Beg may have paid a pioneer’s penalty in our then nascent photo industry -- the rewards for his innovations flowed to the next generation of organizations, including Drik and MAP.
Khanam was the first widely recognized female professional photographer of Bangladesh. She was the official photographer for Begum, the leading women’s newspaper at the time. She documented Satyajit Ray working on his films in Calcutta, and received accolades including in an Pakistan-period photo contests.
As with other artists covered in the book, Mohaiemen draws on published research by other authors to provide readers an eloquent yet succinct account of Khanam’s family background (apparently the household of Khanam’s maternal grandfather subscribed to about 17 newspapers) and likely influence, exposure to photography and persistent pursuits despite immensely challenging social conditions against women choosing to pursue professional life at the time.
Mohaiemen’s characteristic search for historical tendencies is evident. For example, in the Khanam chapter he also describes the genesis of Begum and its role in the newly partitioned East-Bengal. In this process, the book features a few photographs by Khanam, most notably of the national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam with his wife Promila Devi. In another image we encounter a house help who becomes the subject of conservative pushback about “be abroo (not covering body properly)” image. The chapter ends with a pensive freedom fighter with his idle Sten gun on December 16th. Mohaiemen does a deep reading of the contexts and possible meanings of these images, and others (eg, Mother Teresa with unwanted children of war-rapes).
Mohaiemen also devotes significant space for institutions and personalities who have helped shape the current industry -- a chapter is dedicated to Shahidul Alam and his Drik and how it has fostered the next generation. The analytical prose accompanying images would evoke emotion, which is a measure of the photographer, and consideration of the turbulent and traumatic past of our country, for which we are still looking for answers.
Many histories
The book’s catalog of images spans a century, covering political, social, economic, and religious conditions of both sides of Bengal. Placed in their relevant chapters are historical sequences -- division of Bengal at the onset of 20th century, pre-Partition Dhaka, the Pakistan period, post independent Bangladesh, development upsurge, key institutions, the other Bengal, what is gained and lost -- which collectively captures multitudes of depiction. The readers would be spoilt for choice to enjoy some rather exceptional photos, carefully selected for their significance, captured by esteemed artists. Mohaiemen’s persuasive and piercing observations alongside them would delight readers to contemplate a journey in a time machine through our region and its transformation to date.
Many famous images -- eg Naib Uddin Ahmed’s photograph inspired by Zainul Abedin’s The Struggle (1954) to “Final Embrace” by Taslima Akther (2013) -- are here. Still, it is the less familiar ones that would give more insights to readers and browsers. For example, Gandhi in Noakhali (Tarak Das), poet Nazrul and Promila Devi (Sayeeda Khanam), the Zinzira bazar (Kashi Nath Nandi), a pregnant mother-in-waiting (Munira Morshed Munni), Hotel Intercontinental (Anwar Hossain), Mizan watching TV (Shahidul Alam), Canning Street (Selim Pal), indigenous youth (Mahmud Rahman), house help and their employer (Jannatul Mawa), James and Feelings (Imtiaz Alam Beg) and Fatehpur Sikri (Sukumar Ray) are just a few that caught my curiosity. But there are others which would captivate readers. These images and accompanying narratives are intriguing and would be helpful for readers to understand contexts and social significance.
The title of the book promises to explore reality in photographic history. To that end, Mohaiemen develops compelling arguments decoding images from the early 20th century to now. In the first chapter, we learn how the structures of colonialism, the division of Bengal, and overall economic conditions may have affected the approaches of photographers of Bengal. The focus on individual portraits of the wealthy and powerful are dissected for clues about the class character of the photographic pioneers of the two Bengals.
Mohaiemen compares a portrait of rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam (Habibul Bahar Chowdhuy, 1926) with Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California” (1936) which raised awareness of high inequalities during the American great depression. A young Nazrul portrayed as playing a flute on the scenic backdrop of Chittagong could not be more distant from the reality, given the poet’s rebellious acts against the colonial power, especially at that period.
In chapter two, Mohaiemen scrutinizes Zainul Abedin’s famous famine series. He then moves to consider Abedin’s later work, in particular the painting sometimes named The Struggle. The book summarizes findings from research on a similar image taken by Abedin’s contemporary Naib Uddin Ahmed. The conclusion is that the photograph may have come first and been an inspiration for Adedin’s famous work. There are enlightening discussions we may have in the future as to why the anti-colonialism protests were absent in Abedin’s work. Critics suggested the famine series expressed an extreme fury, nonetheless. There may not be raised arms, but juxtaposing beggars, dogs, crows scavenging from the same garbage dump painted a hellish reality of poverty and injustice at the time.
Mohaiemen suggests that Abedin’s depiction of harsh social realism shattered colonial romanticism in the arts. Apparently Abedin and Ahmed were close allies and their work may also have inspired artists in subsequent decades, for example one may see some influence in The Labourer (Manzoor Alam Beg, 1970s).
The other Bengal
As with the eastern side, the book discusses the historical journey and evolution of the photography industry in West Bengal, and the resulting difference, in three chapters towards the end. Starting with pre-Partition time we delve into the genesis of photojournalism in West Bengal and coverage of events such as suppression of Naxalite movement. Renowned photographers of West Bengal included Subrata “Pat” Patranabis, Sunil Janah, and Selim Pal. The book theorizes some likely reasons for comparatively low expressions of social realism in West Bengal photography -- this may be partially due to the lack of vernacular photography institutions, and the weight of stereotypes ingested by visiting photographers who looked only for rickshaws, Mother Teresa, and Satyajit Ray.
Mohaiemen argues that due to Partition, Calcutta-centred West Bengal lost the potential diversity of Bengali Muslim practitioners who stayed in East Bengal, and also experienced the impact of emigration to bigger centers (eg, Delhi, Bombay). The post-independence aid and NGO funding networks were also shared with other Indian states. This is a notable contrast with Bangladesh’s photography journey, which is impacted from being within what Naomi Hossain calls “The Aid Lab” (cited in a Mohaiemen’s book).
The advent of photography was initially confined to the wealthy in West Bengal. Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya Bahadur, a king of Tripura and Raja Lala Deen Dayal of Hyderabad were some of the pioneers who brought the camera facilities to India in the late nineteenth century. They mostly snapped elites and famous figures like Viceroy and Rabidranath.
Newspapers such as Anandabazar, Statesman, and Jugantor in West Bengal spurred photojournalism earlier than the East. However, outside the news, there had been a noticeable absence of “photorealism,” as unlike the east it had different political upheavals of the 1950s and 60s. Sunil Janah and Subrata Patranabis (natural countryside, naxalite movements), as well as the Chitrabani group, are some of the West Bengal Photographers who have captured social realities through their lenses.
There is a noticeable lack of photography institutions in Calcutta. Chitrabani has been an exception. It was an initiative of two teachers of St Xavier’s College. They initiated a documentary series to display the everyday life of the city, the activities, and occupations of the city’s poor and downtrodden. Notable series include "People of Calcutta" and “Ghore Baire.”
Mohaiemen investigates apparent differences and similarities of photography in both Bengals and tries to offer possible reasons for the journey thus far. The eastern side of Bengal had military rules, relative disquiet (political and environmental), and significant NGO activities, whereas West Bengal exists within a much bigger competitive market and country. There have been very limited interactions between the industry and photo-artists of both places -- Selim Pal coming to Bangladesh for an NGO assignment and Drik temporarily opening a branch in Calcutta are the rare examples.
Put down the camera
In the final chapter, Mohaiemen poses some poignant realities of photography and photojournalism in Bangladesh. Gone are the days when Europeans flew in and out of the country with few snaps of poverty to be published in international outlets, but perhaps they have been replaced by our own photographers. While possible staging of past historic photographs is now discussed in the media, the subtle ways images change to suit corporate clients' demands continues unchallenged.
Bangladeshi photographers tend to be focused on environmental effects, river life, urban poor, or more recent addition Rohingya refugees, as perhaps their work depends on funding support. One question is whether certain inequality and injustice in our society is ignored due to there not being a related funding category. This is visible in our intentional lack of coverage for indigenous peoples’ fight for rights in Chittagong Hill Tracts, the land insecurity of religious minorities, or attitude towards same-sex love.
One notable omission in the book are Adivasi or Indigenous people (there is one photo on page 115) and Hindu community (one untitled photo by Bijan Sarkar on page 63 looks like a temple) in general. This is a small signpost to a pattern of exclusion by generations of Bengali photographers. The book ends with a hope that photographers will continue to join the fight for justice and equality.
Mohaiemen’s previous books were in English, and this is his first book in Bengali. Written in easy prose, it shows his proficiency in both languages, albeit readers would likely notice a difference in tone and style of the prose from his earlier work.
The book is a continuation of Mohaiemen’s dedication to look for nuance, beyond the obvious, in the pasts of Bengal. Readers familiar with Mohaiemen’s films -- eg Rankin Street, 1953(2013), Jole Dobe Na (2020) -- would find this pursuit in this book as well.
This book’s historical quest takes the reader on a pictorial journey worth their time to get a snapshot of Bengal’s photography. The publisher chose a high-quality paper and a hard cover, the print images in black and white are bright and clear. Readers and collectors can rest easy on its longevity through repeated use overtime.
Bengal Photography’s Reality Quest by Naeem Mohaiemen is available at Amazon and Rokomari.com. There will be Book events related to the publication on March 13 (BRAC), March 14 (NSU), and March 16 (Shilpakala Academy).
