KOCHI: During his pursuit to gather material for his PhD thesis on 'High ranges in migrant narratives', K P Jayakumar stumbled on a treasure trove, a rare collection of colonial photographs that depicted the social life and nature of the high ranges over the decades.
Whilst acknowledging the importance of such photographs in anthropological studies in erstwhile colonies like India, Jayakumar, an assistant professor at NSS College, Cherthala, knew they demanded a deeper reading. And, it is for the same reason that he decided to document these visual riches, which are now being exhibited at Durbar Hall in Kochi.
Images from the start of the British era to the iconic 'posing with the kill' feature in the collection, which boasts of over 40 images. "While they retrace the history of the country and British invasion, these photographs have a deeper relevance too. The image of a trophy hunter, showing him as an elite, alpha male who could be a dominant power, had a deep-rooted effect on the then Indian psyche. How the style was copied by the royal family members of Travancore and Puthukottai proves its significance. The same imagery was even used by O Chandu Menon in his cult classic 'Indulekha' which had its protagonist Madhavan shooting down a tiger, a show off of his masculine energy," says Jayakumar, who got a grant from India Foundation for the Arts under the Arts Research Programme.
The images capture the history of the high range and its myriad facets, including living, nature, industry, development and tribal population. "The collection has some of the few images available on the great floods of 1924. The nature before and after the floods have been captured in its glory.
The entire fate of Munnar would have changed, had the floods not washed away the railway tracks. The photo series also touches upon the life of the tribal population and the changes post the 1926's Game Hunters Protection Act. The act had an adverse impact on the tribal population as it banned them from killing animals for a living, whereas game hunting, done for entertainment, went on unabated," says Jayakumar.
It took a long search for Jayakumar to get these pictures.
"Ironically, procuring them wasn't that tough because people didn't realise their anthropological value. Many bungalows and clubs in the high ranges have a huge collection of these pictures and most of them are left unattended. The owners were only happy to share them with me," he adds.
A huge chunk of these historically-significant images came from Mount Carmel Church in Munnar, which had safeguarded hundreds of images, all clicked by the now-defunct Royal Studio at Munnar. "The studio started in 1900, had a huge collection of photographs. By 1980, it had to be shut down after the owner passed away. The negatives were saved by the then vicar of Mount Carmel Church. They were handed over to me by Fr Shinto, the current vicar," says Jayakumar. The expo will end on Wednesday.