THRISSUR: A photo speaks a thousand words. So goes the adage. India’s first photography museum in Thrissur not only speaks volumes about the history of cameras and photographs, but also gives deep insight into the way photographs captured the lives and deeds of people years ago.
Set up by Better Art Foundation, the museum, Photomuse, has been open to connoisseurs for more than a decade. A couple of months ago, the museum was shifted to its own building at Kodakara. The revamped museum showcases an array of cameras and related items.
The brainchild of Unnikrishnan Pulickal, a doctor by profession, Photomuse at present has grown into a community of people interested in learning photography and understanding its aesthetic frontiers.
“It was in the 1990s that I started exploring the scope of camera and photographs. Since childhood I had nurtured a passion for visual arts and nature. Observing nature gradually led to searching for ways to capture the precious moments of living things around me. Thus I started using camera and then went deep into nature’s finer details,” said Unnikrishnan, who curated the Photography Museum and also works as the museum director. A team of photography enthusiasts has been backing Unnikrishnan in running the museum as a non-profit organisation.
With a collection of over 15,000 items related to photography, Photomuse has introduced a path-breaking concept creating a niche for professional and amateur photographers with nature as its theme. Photomuse also holds photography workshops and camps for people, for which only a nominal fee is charged. It also conducts a popular photography training programme titled ‘To Nature Through Photography.’
“Most of the cameras showcased in the museum are either from my personal collection or donated by like-minded people, which belonged to a particular period of time,” added Unnikrishnan. The museum boasts an array of old models including film cameras, spy cams, and underwater cameras. The collection also includes new-age video cameras. The collection of cameras gives valuable insight into the evolution of photography and the technological advances which transformed visual aesthetics.
Rare piece of Kerala’s own Vageeshwari camera
Vageeshwari is the pride of not only Kerala but also the entire country as it is the only camera that was indigenously manufactured in the country. Except the lens, the camera was made up of wood and could be folded into a box like other cameras available at that time. K Karunakaran, a resident of Alapuzha, came up with the large format camera named Vageeshwari in 1946 which cost around Rs 250. Though the camera is available in the personal collection of photography enthusiasts, it is rarely seen in public places. The rare camera is on display at Photomuse, and visitors can view it for free.
Original old photos on display at expo
An exhibition hall is also set up as a part of the museum. Original photographs related to different themes are on display at the museum. The history of photography is also exhibited here and it includes images developed through processes like daguerreotype, and Black glass Ambrotype used in the 18th century.
The museum also sports a large collection of rare photographs, especially that of Thrissur. One among them is a picture of Paramekkavu temple’s Thrissur Pooram Panthal at Manikantanal. As per sources, the photo was clicked in 1937. Entry to the museum is free and it is open on all days except Monday.
An ardent nature lover and acclaimed photographer
After completing MBBS, Unnikrishnan pursued MD in Adolescent Pediatrics. For more than 15 years, he was into observation and documentation of butterflies. Later his attention panned into nature’s myriad lives and landscapes and advanced aspects of photography. Unnikrishnan received the prestigious title ARPS from Royal Photographic Society, London, in 1998. He was also awarded Senior Fellowship in Create Photography by Ministry of Culture, Government of India. He has also authored several books on photography and butterflies.