Frames that give life to ‘Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil’

Literature-based photographic narration, haven’t heard of it? You can be forgiven, as D Manoj is the first person to venture into the genre.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo )
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo )

KOCHI: Literature-based photographic narration, haven’t heard of it? You can be forgiven, as D Manoj is the first person to venture into the genre. His passion for stories narrated by famous writers has prompted him to give them an expression through his pictures.

Titled ‘Mayyazhiyiloode’, the 56-picture series brings forth the soul of M Mukundan’s novel Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil. The work is being exhibited at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery.
This is Manoj’s second pain-staking attempt to capture the emotions of characters and places described in cult Malayalam novels, the first being,‘Karmaparamparayile Kannikal’, based on O V Vijayan’s
‘Khasakkinte Ithihasam’.

The Vaikom-based photographer, elaborating on this genre of photographic narration based on literature, said the art is more like a photo-study.“More than doing a series of pictures for an exhibition, it enlightens us on how our surroundings and characters influence a writer’s imagination,” said Manoj. He calls it a process in which one tries to recreate the emotions of a literary masterpiece through a series of pictures. “So, I go about looking for frames that can justify various excerpts from these novels,” he says.   

On the difference in the way he went about creating ‘Karmaparamparayile Kannikal’ and ‘Mayyazhiyiloode’, he said with the former series, he tried to capture how magical realism is applied to the village Thasarak in Palakkad, so the focus was on nature and its characteristics.

“In ‘Mayyazhiyiloode’, as the novel is based on the time when the French occupied Mahe, the focus shifted to different places that are mentioned in it, which bring out the soul of the narrative,” says Manoj.  
“I have picked the works that have influenced me the most. It is the writer’s strength of weaving a story together that draws one to do a series like this,” says Manoj as he elaborated on how he goes about deciding on what novels to work on.

Manoj took close to 18 months to finish the ‘Mayyazhiyiloode’ series, the reason being that he had to wait for events such as the festival in the temple and the annual Mahe church festivities, which holds a central part in the novel, and had to be captured in its truest form. Manoj is already in the works of doing a similar series based on novels by Vaiakom Muhammad Basheer and Kamala Surayya. Both will be out soon.
The exhibition will conclude on Wednesday.

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