During the 1970s, Delhi was a relaxed and easy-going city. I have always loved Delhi for its monuments. During our times, the heritage buildings were respected and cared for. There were no gates or fences around them. The landscape of the monuments was raw and beautiful. There were no manicured lawns around the heritage buildings and it was a delight to shoot photographs there. In that context, Delhi’s growth and urbanisation over the last few decades have been directionless and expressionless.
In the name of restoring these monuments, people have disturbed the aesthetic texture of the heritage buildings without having much regard for the era these buildings belong to or a decent idea of restoration work. The Delhi government spent so much money in making Delhi green during the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but more than half of those plants have dried up. No one even cared to water them. Anyone can get away with anything. A few sections of society have taken over heritage buildings in the name of religion. And people build religious structures in the middle of the road. Today, Delhi is about anything and everything.
The political class has undergone a massive change in the last four decades. There is no comparison between today’s politicians and those of the 1970s. There are so many security issues that the politicians face today. It has changed the way they live and conduct themselves. During the 1970s, press photographers could be only four to five feet away from the political leaders at photo opportunities. We would return with pictures that would make us proud. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi would be extremely kind to the press. At times, her security staff would trouble us during photo shoots by asking us to maintain a distance. But we could complain to Mrs Gandhi freely. She would rebuke the staff in our presence. Today, it’s more of a distant game for press photographers. There’s barely any emotional value.
Back in the 1970s, Rajpath was open to all. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s speeches on Rajpath had a huge fan-following among the babus who would step out during lunch time to hear Vajpayee speak. In the last few years, protests have returned to the streets in Delhi, but the way the protesters are dealt with is disappointing.
Delhi was a beautiful cultural hub in the 1970s. Delhi today continues to be the cultural hub. A lot of galleries have mushroomed in the city and that’s good for the art scene. Back then, I was fortunate to witness the first jugalbandi concert of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Sahib and Pandit Ravi Shankar at the Modern School, Barakhamba. I had many opportunities to shoot photographs of the greatest maestros during concerts in Delhi.
Rai is an ace photographer
(As told to Sumati Mehrishi)