In the first-floor studio overlooking Connaught Place, Pavan Mahatta, 67, pulls a drawer of ageing film negatives from a wooden cabinet, the year is marked 1960. On the wall above, a framed black- and - white photo shows a tonga rattling past a building in Connaught place, as early high-rises pierce the skyline, and a young city finding its footing.
While Mahattas & co has been the unofficial chronicler of Delhi for more than eight decades, the legacy today stands at a crossroads between the rise of artificial intelligence and the transient nature of digital.
Founded before Partition, built over three generations of the Mahatta family and with an archive of over lakh images, the studio has chronicled the rise of Delhi throughout the 50s and 60s, pioneered technological advancements over the 70s and 80s while keeping pace with changing times amid technological advancement, a legal battle and the rise of e-commerce platforms.
The studio’s relevance in the present day hinges on a simple truth: without preservation, the studio risks fading into obscurity.
Dalhousie to Srinagar to Delhi
The Mahattas trace their origins to the early 20th century, Amarnath Mahatta the studio’s founder learned photography from the British officers in Dalhousie by operating a portable darkroom that developed images within hours. The family had relocated to Srinagar in 1913 and opened their first showroom in 1915, which now has been converted into a museum.
The family fled to Delhi in 1947 amid unrest in Kashmir and established their base in Connaught place, where they remain to this day. It was here Madan Mahatta, Pavan’s father captured one of Independent India’s and Delhi’s most iconic frames: Queen Elizabeth beside President Rajendra Prasad. It remains one of the studio’s most iconic photographs - bearing witness as history unfolded.
A champion of film
Mahattas were always ahead of times. They introduced colour printing in 1954, became India’s first authorised distributor of Kodak and adopted the country’s first digital imaging system in 1986. Yet Pavan, a chartered accountant by profession, confesses his preference to film over digital. “ Digital images don't last and are susceptible to hard drive crashes,” he says. While cloud storage has become widespread, it lacks the satisfaction of a film roll.
By contrast, the negatives in his archives dating back seven decades are still in usable condition. Today, over 3.5 lakh images are digitised, but the scanning and cataloguing of close to ten lakh originals remains a monumental process.
From the rise of digital over film in the mid 2000s to the present day AI tools capable of generating photorealistic images,the industry has undergone a transformation. While Pavan acknowledges AI’s capability in speeding up tasks and its efficiency, he notes that AI images are too ‘smooth’ and lack the imperfections that enhance a photograph.
The exposure triangle - ISO, Shutter speed and Aperture - will remain the fundamental principles of photography, regardless of technological change, he says.
Difficult times
Retail sales have seen a dip following the rise of e-commerce platforms like Amazon, shelving their ground-floor showroom and operations. Yet, they continue to receive commercial photography assignments with the latest one documenting Delhi’s airport, Goa’s new terminals and also recently documented Vishakapantam’s upcoming infrastructure.
The family is locked in a legal battle with LIC, which claims they are unauthorised occupants despite occupying the building even before LIC’s own Establishment and Mahatta rues the absence of government support.
“Delhi would lose a piece of its heritage, if we were to go tomorrow”, Pavan says. The fight not just for space, but for the right to maintain relevance in a rapidly digitising world.
He recalls teaching Amitabh Bachchan photography in his farmhouse in Chattarpur during the actor’s recovery from his Coolie accident and terms it an unexpected and memorable period.
The act of preservation defines the Mahatta legacy, “ Delhi would lose a piece of its heritage, if we were to go tomorrow”, Pavan says. The fight is not just for space, but for the right to maintain relevance in a rapidly digitising world.
Ultimately the studio’s archives lie not in its wooden cabinets, but the studio itself. It is a stark reminder that some frames must outlive us. Mahatta & Co stands as a testament to this truth - memory needs preservation, else Delhi risks losing its chronicler.
