CHENNAI: This weekend, Art Houz on Sterling Road will play host to slices of reality from Kashmir. One that’s often relegated to mainstream imaginations or the popular propaganda of vested interests. While many a politician, policymaker, activist, author, journalist and general citizen have contributed towards breaking down the facade, here’s a lawyer-photographer Sithara Sarangan adding to the effort; with art, of course. The fundraiser photography exhibition, Reimagining the Valley, would not just be a showcase of Kashmir but one for Kashmir too.
All this was the result of a solo trip to Kashmir and the encounters it offered. “I was only there for a week but I got to travel to Pahalgam, Srinagar, Margan Top and Anantnag. I just kept taking pictures while I was there and I got to meet a lot of people. It was my first time in Kashmir; I never had any idea of what those people were like and what problems they faced culturally, socially and politically,” Sithara recounts.
While still a new experience, she was no stranger to the Valley’s woes. She had spent three years studying extensively about Kashmir as part of her thesis that was based on Constitutional law. That it coincided with the time our leaders were battling it out over Section 370 only offered more to read about. The visit was an extension of the curiosity that had resulted from all the work.
Upon her return, she decided to put the photos to good use. “I can’t say I went there for seven days and now I understand them. For me, it was just about telling these stories — of these people, of how they have been living sustainably over the years. So my pictures are mostly landscapes but they feature the local people in it,” she says. Proceeds from the exhibition would be donated to ELFA International, an education organisation in Kashmir. “ELFA gives them lifeskills, teaches them livelihood programmes and gives them access to education. They started something called the Safe Schools Programme; now the Ministry of Education is trying to replicate that model in government schools. ELFA is also doing good work in menstrual health management,” she reveals.
Her desire to help brought in like-minded people looking to add to the contribution. “As people from Tamil Nadu, we are largely disconnected to north India itself and to Kashmir in particular. You see only a certain class of people travelling there. I thought I knew a lot about the place and its problems but only when I went there and talked to the locals, I got to understand them more. So, here, there are a few people who want to do something (for the people of Kashmir) but don’t know the means to help out. While politically there’s not much you can do but socially, there’s much we can do. And this is one of them,” she notes.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by Carnatic vocalist and social activist, TM Krishna, and founder of Light & Life Academy of Photography, Iqbal Mohamed. Having two people who have done much activism through the medium of art open the show would also allow people to learn more about the cause in ways they had not before, she hopes. “Photography is a powerful mode to convey stories and enable change. We see these vintage photographs resurfacing on social media, and we see how it makes us perceive history very differently. That’s the idea behind the exhibition,” she concludes.
The exhibition will be live from November 5 to 7 at Art Houz. For people outside Chennai, prints will go for sale online on November 7 at reimaginingthevalley.in