THE ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY Fall 2017 | Baruch College | Macaulay Honors

Photography is often used, quite simply, as a vehicle of expression and depiction. A lens can capture happiness and sorrow, wealth and poverty, and triumph and loss. However, to actually capture what is real is where the difficulty truly lies. Raghubir Singh took on the monumental task to photograph and frame a reality of India in its post-colonial times. The reality he frames is exemplified by contrasts that are illustrated in a multitude of fashions but most notably through color. Every photograph he took speaks worlds about and frames the reality of the world that he saw.

Often black and white images of the impoverished and downtrodden or the hopeful and the victorious resonate with an onlooker. Perhaps it is because when a picture is devoid of color, it seems disconnected from a reality that we know, a world filled with beauty and color that we are accustomed to. With that in mind, if Singh was aiming to express a reality in India, whether impoverished or not, because his photographs do show both sides, why are the pictures we see so vibrant? I went in with preconceived notion along those lines, so looking through the exhibition was truly unique in this aspect. Singh used color as essential element to portray the life in his home country.

Many times, the vibrancy contrasts with the subject of the photograph. In the photograph “A Wedding Party,” a truly barren land is dotted with the bright reds of the clothing. In essence, he is capturing a reality of life’s contrasts, using color to illustrate it. Sometimes, though, the colors are dulled to depict something more somber, somewhere we we may not truly see a lack of color. Aside from the physical aspects and studium of the photographs, the subjects of Singh’s photographs capture the contrasting realities of post-colonial India. In many of the photographs, like “On Vivekananda Rock,” he showcases beauty, while in others he showcases poverty and hardship. I believe this range of photos he captures speaks of great importance about our reality, whether it was back then in India or today in the United States. Often we only see one sided stories and become blind to the other half. In his photographs, Singh is displaying a reality that accounts for both sides of a spectrum that is usually cropped.

As someone who has never been exposed to this era, I was able to get a glimpse into post-colonial India in a most unique way. I believe that Singh’s photographs truly do capture a reality that is often difficult to depict. In each and every photo there is raw emotion and human nature surrounded by the vibrancy and beauty of life and circumstance. He illustrated a universal truth of contrasts between dark times in life with bright spots of joy and hope.

Raghubir Singh had a very difficult job in capturing the reality of post colonial India at the time that these pictures were taken. There were so many different aspects of the post-colonial Indian life that he could have taken photographs of, but he chose this certain selection of photographs. By choosing these specific photographs, he shows his audience the impoverished side of India as well as the side that is thriving and enjoying things in their small villages. Singh made it  point to photograph and show us both sides of life in India to give us a well rounded perspective of what life in truly like in that part of the world.

In his exhibit, Singh successfully uses contrast to capture the reality of life in post colonial India. In one photograph in the exhibit, Singh captured a group of older men sitting on the ground in the middle of a small village eating popsicles. The men had the biggest smiles on their faces as they sat in the street and enjoyed their sweet treats. This showed the happy and enjoyable side of life in India. These men might be sitting in a dirt road but they are enjoying this small thing in life and are happy. Singh contrasts this photograph by displaying a different image of an extremely malnourished, scrawny cow in the middle of a dried up field in his exhibit. In this photograph Singh shows up the impoverished struggling side of India. The animals that the citizens of India probably use of food and drink are extremely malnourished and skinny. This cow probably has not eaten for weeks because there is no food or water for the people to eat or drink, much less to give it to the animals. This extreme contrast in the portrayal of life in India at this time is used all throughout Singh’s exhibit to shows how people truly live in this part of the world. It shows that depending on what part of India you are shown through photographs, you can draw a totally different conclusion about how life was like in post colonial India.

Singh also used an extreme contrast in colors in his exhibit to show the reality of life in India. This color contrast is prevalent in all of his photographs throughout the exhibit. So many of the photographs are full of color and depict celebrations in these small Indian villages. But, so many of the photographs are also very bland in color and showcase the brown sand which shows us the dryness of the Indian landscape. The colors of Singh’s exhibits are  extremely important to the message he is trying to portray through his work. Singh uses so many different techniques in his photograph that all allow for him to show his audience the reality of life in post-colonial India.

Raghubir Singh did a wonderful job capturing real moments in people’s lives in India. He captured an array of scenarios, from celebrations to poverty and everything in between. Although I didn’t find any explicit references to “pre-colonial” India, Singh did a great job showing the new things in people’s lives and the way they affected people. For example, Singh captured a man who looked homeless and hopeless next to a retro-looking car. Many questions come about this point. Is the car perceived as new or old in India? How does the man see this car and is he even phased by it? Singh could have cut it out of his frame, therefore there should be a reason for its place in the photo.  

Singh also uses different elements in his photos and their relation in layers of the photo. He used glass as a “modern” view in a photograph of a woman at the market, in the photograph “Pedestrians, Kemp’s Corner, Mumbai, 1989.” Perhaps it’s an old practice viewed through a modern perspective. In the same way, Singh made a comment about the English’s influence when photographing a beautiful statue of a lion that looks entrapped in a net that someone is simply and randomly holding in front of the lion. Perhaps, Singh references a reverse of roles, where now India has grown to live around and with English influence, instead of the English being dominant and intrusive.

Additionally, Singh plays with colors. They create the studium in his photographs, capturing the observer’s attention. The contrast between brown buildings and dirty roads, and colorful clothing and bright components, also creates a statement between two elements. This contrast is predominantly seen in women’s clothing, that is usually very colorful in comparison to the surroundings. This might be a statement about the importance of women’s roles in society.

Overall, Singh captured postcolonial India using real life examples contrasting different themes in the lives of people. He uses layers and colors to convey his interpretations. In all honesty, I don’t know too much about pre-colonial India in order to compare Singh’s post-colonial images, however my interpretation is that Singh’s photographs show adaptability. There weren’t lengthy descriptions of the photos and excessive analysis of the situations. Singh shows them the way they are and lets the observer decide. To me, life in India seems like it is adaptable to all situations, in laughs and cries, riches and poverty.

Ellen Stoyanov

Raghubir Singh was able to capture a side of India that many people do not get to see. As noted in the biography, he was keen on using color to express India. This made me convinced that his photographs contained more studium and punctum than Sternberger’s exhibit. Singh expressed that he believed color was more effective than the black and white “visions” that Americans usually have. I absolutely agree with Singh. As I walked around the exhibit I thought it was interesting how he split it between different aspects such as Bombay and the Ganges. I have not seen an exhibit centered on different parts of one country. Singh was able to give the viewers a taste of the subcontinent as a whole. This exhibit is also unique, because Singh did not sugarcoat the story of the Indian people. He captured the lion symbol from the British Raj in one of his images. He also showed a man living in a literal box. This image displayed to me the hardship and poverty that these people faced during and after the regime of brutality that the British imposed on them. Despite this pain and stain in their history, there were many pictures displaying joy and happiness. One section that intrigued me more than others was the concept of the “Ambassador’s car”. This automobile in the exhibit was that built in India and recreated from a British model. This stuck out to me, because my country, Mali, faced similar struggles during imperialism from the “Race for Africa” era. Mali was under French rule, but was not stripped of its culture. We make our own merchandise (but we still need to import a lot), there is still the dominant religion of Islam, and we have our traditional clothing and language of Bambara. Also, the French did not alter most of our names hence my last name still being from the rich Malian history. This idea of the ambassador car carrying strong and important figures from something made in their own country and not that of their oppressor deeply moved me. It frustrates me that my country is rich in resources such as a gold and salt, but we are still exploited. However, my people are still happy people. This relates to the Indian people Singh portrayed, and I am sure it can be a related sentiment to many people who were oppressed by Europeans. I truly enjoyed watching Singh capture the culture and the subtle rebellion in post-colonial India. I think Singh accurately portrayed reality, because he portrayed the good and the bad as well as the presence of religion and how it pushes the people of India to be their best selves.

– MARIE TRAORE