KOCHI: To honour the late Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, Danish Siddiqui, Kerala Media Academy organised an exhibition at Bharath Bhavan. Many intriguing frames captured by the chief photographer of Reuters were put on display on LED screens at the one-day exhibition held in association with the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust and Capital Lens View.
The empathic photojournalist’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs of the Rohingya refugee crisis, and frames of the clash between Afghan Special Forces and Taliban during the rescue mission of a police officer in Kandahar province were on display at the auditorium.
The exhibition titled Danish: Common Man’s Eye showcased many of his prominent works on the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), heart-breaking scenes from the first and second wave of the Covid pandemic, the mass protest by farmers against the new farm laws and many more. Each of his photographs reflected an empathy towards the people who found themselves helpless in life-threatening situations.
Interestingly, there were pictures that kept away from the sorrow and grief. Photos like the 70th-anniversary celebrations of North Korea’s foundation in 2018 at Pyongyang and a man feeding seagulls on a beach in Mumbai captured in 2016 communicated how Danish zoomed his lens on the bright side of the world too.
The exhibition was held as a tribute to the departed soul, said R S Babu, chairman of Kerala Media Academy. Babu said the 25 photos on display were from the Reuters website. “Danish himself conveyed that he shoots for the common man. Even during violent scenarios, he captured elements of love and helplessness of human beings. He focused mostly on human sentiments and that makes him different from other Pulitzer winners from our country. The lives of people are concealed in Danish’s photos,” he said.
Apart from paying a tribute, the exhibition was organised to inspire aspiring journalists, said Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust chairman Suresh Vellimangalam.
“Danish’s commitment towards job and determination to continue documenting the Afghan-Taliban clash
even after getting injured shows how much he loved his profession. Even though his life was brief, he is a role model for aspiring journalists to uphold sincerity and commitment towards our profession,” he said.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Speaker M B Rajesh in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. “In the coming days, the exhibition will be held at Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Malappuram in association with respective KUWJ wings in the districts,” Suresh Vellimangalam said.