Category: Photography

Urban Landscape of Bithoor: Between its Pratha and Praja

7/9/2020

Separated by a thousand kilometres of land, connected by the moving water of river Ganges, Bithoor and Kolkata, both, reflect the historicity of Indian water-aligned towns. Curiously, Bithoor was the last seat for the Marathas and Kolkata canal system begins with the 'Maratha Ditch' to keep the Marathas out of the British town. Both the towns witnessed water integral to the development of their civilization. On one thread of history, Kolkata has thrived through its geopolitical location and vibrant ecosystem, on the other, Bithoor subdued as its last patron, Marathas, lost to British. In the 1860s, British chose nearby Cawnpore (Kanpur) over Bithoor as one of the major railway junctions and trade centers, which did not help the town's future. While the rest of the book navigates through the channels of Kolkata as its physical context, this ethnographic photo essay makes an attempt to narrate the embedded warp and wrath of pratha (traditions) and praja (people) of Bithoor. A small settlement near the industrial metropolis of Kanpur and one of the oldest living towns in the world, Bithoor showcases another type of cultural landscape to add to the contextual and typological richness of the possible landscape urbanism discourses captured in this book. However, despite its rich heritage and glorious past, the town, today, laments the ignorance and abuse of its dwellers and users, much like the canals of Kolkata facing now. The author originally composed the narration in Hindi, the native speech of Bithoor. While following the native version closely, he has presented a bilingual narrative here for a wider readership.

Read More

Autobiography of Bithoor, available again

12/11/2019

Autobiography of Bithoor from Saurabh Tewari on Vimeo.

Visit to Sevagram and Wardha

25/7/2019

Mahatma Gandhi has been an iconic and omnipresent figure in India. Like, many of my co-citizens, I know a bit about his role in independence, his philosophy and writings. However, personally, there was no enquiry into the spaces he lived in. Thanks to EPCO Fellowship, I was able to visit the historical sites associated with Gandhi in Sevagram and Wardha. I further realised that I have seen his other residences, in Phoenix, and at Sabarmati. In this series, I will present snippets from Sevagram and Wardha. Again, the idea is to understand the Gandhian philosophy through spaces, objects and practices.

Sevagram Gandhi Ashram
The Sevagram complex is made up of four significant buildings, including the Aadi Kutir, Bapu Kutir, Baa Kutir and Jamnalal Bajaj residence. Aadi Kutir was the first building to be made where Mahatma Gandhi stayed first along with his peers on the invitation of Jamnalal Bajaj of Wardha in 1936. Interestingly, Bapu limited the budget of the building to Rs 1, so it had to be made using the local material procured from the site. It is a minimal assemble of habitat spaces with ascetic materials like local timber and mud. The low ceiling height with the harmonic pillars around keep the experience serene and humble. This place witnessed historical meetings with many luminaries from India's freedom struggle. Later, with the larger influx of visitors in the setup the other huts were made. Its story reminded me of great suggestion to the architect Laurie Baker about using the building material from close vicinity. Perhaps, the Aadi Kutir was the reference.

The whole complex conveys a spiritual emotion through its grounded planes and landscape. Every other second, I felt Gandhi was present around. The gravel on the ground and walking barefoot around was a tactical experience of the space. The objects kept in the residences manifests the simplicity of Gandhi's everyday life.

PS: The early morning prayer at 4:45 a.m. was heavenly. I strongly reccommend attending it, if you plan to visit Sevagram.

Bajaj Science Centre

25/7/2019

Designed by Architect Christopher Charles Beninger, the Bajaj Science Centre at Wardha is an innovative initiative to encourage and infuse the pragmatic aspects of science in young minds. Around 500 students from Wardha region enroll in the various modules of the Science Centre to learn the practical and creative aspects of science. They focus on learning by doing and creative learning where children are taught concepts of maths and science through fun activities and games. There are dedicated labs for each discipline of science including Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy, Chemistry, etc.

I think its one of the most meaningful initiatives in Science Education in India. Bajaj Science Centre is the model which can be implemented in various other fields like Design.

Album - Bauhaus

20/6/2016

Comments

Full Album

Comments

Revisiting the work published in "Of Indian Origin"

20/6/2016

Comments

Images and words like rhythm and blues
July 21, 2010
The saying a picture speaks a thousand words is so perfectly depicted by this wonderful photo poetry created by Saurabh Tewari, a visual communication student at IIT Bombay, titled ‘The Story of Confetti’.

Comments