Looking behind closed doors

Anand is selective about the photographs of the doors she shares on Instagram.
Aanchal Vishwanathan Anand clicked the first photograph of the Darwaaza series at Udaipur
Aanchal Vishwanathan Anand clicked the first photograph of the Darwaaza series at Udaipur

BENGALURU: A hashtag #ihaveathingfordoors led CE to Aanchal Viswanathan Anand’s profile on Instagram, which is a mini gallery of doors of all kinds  — rustic, antique, and painted with graffiti. Referred to as the Darwaaza series, every photograph has a door count and its location.

Anand is a student of Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) at Pratt Institute in New York. “Five years ago, I visited Sajjangarh fort in Udaipur for a dance retreat. When we went sight seeing, I was intrigued by the fort’s architecture. One particular door caught my attention. I captured it, uploaded on Instagram and people ‘liked’ it. Since then, everywhere I turned, I could see only doors,” says Anand.

The Darwaaza series soon became an extended project. Right now, the count stands at 96 photographs.“I have many questions when I look at a door — what’s behind the doors, who lived there and how old are they? Doors can also be a metaphor for opportunities. Every city has different doors that reflect the culture of the place. I call it the Darwaaza series because I captured the first one at Udaipur. If I had seen one in Mylapore then the name would’ve been different,” she shares.

Anand is selective about the photographs of the doors she shares on Instagram. “Certain doors call me. It’s a gut feeling. I stare at them for a few minutes and end up capturing them,” she says. Not just doors, mosaics, floor patterns, and ceilings also intrigue Anand and has opened up her perspective to observe diversity in art and architecture around her. She hopes to publish a coffee table book or a postcard
series with her collections.

Picture perfect

Aanchal Viswanathan Anand’s series on Instagram, Darwaaza, tells many tales —of cities, people and moments. Every photograph has the location of the door and the number it holds in the series.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com