 CAMERA CHRONICLES OF HOMAI VYARAWALLA
By Sabeena Gadihoke
Parzor Foundation/Mapin
Price: Not Listed; Pages: 231
| A majority of today's bookstore browsers would not even know her name, or her claim to fame. Yet, in the years and months leading up to India's historic transition to Independence, Homai Vyarawalla was almost as famous as the great leaders and events she chronicled on film. She was India's first female professional press photographer and a pioneer in many other ways.
 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | IMAGE-MAKER: A rare picture of Nehru smoking | | Homai's love for photography was inspired by, well, love. The man she married, Maneckshaw Vyarawalla, was a professional photographer himself and he taught her the basics of photography. Her entry into the field, in the late 1930s, was advantageously timed. New technology had freed the camera from the restrictions of the studio and Indian photographers, at the peak of Rule Britannia, were coming into their own. Moreover, the two Indian periodicals which favoured photography, The Bombay Chronicle and The Illustrated Weekly of India, were both owned by Parsis. Even so, Homai's first published photo features and the accompanying text she wrote carried her husband's byline, a telling comment on the prejudice faced by female photographers in the world of publishing. Even her initial published work was publicity-related: the Second World War saw the birth of the British Information Services and Homai, along with Maneckshaw, joined as a photographer. She moved from Bombay to Delhi, and changed her life and career. She was shooting social soirees and staged air raid drills for the British but also doing freelance work for photo agencies which gave her access to official functions where British and Indian leaders were meeting to chalk out India's tryst with destiny. The Quit India Movement was gathering momentum, as was Partition. Homai became one of the most significant chroniclers of the pre- and post-Independence years.
Her favourite subject was Jawaharlal Nehru and this book has some rare and intimate shots of India's first prime minister. Mahatma Gandhi was less accommodating: he once scolded her for photographing him using a flash, saying: "This girl will not rest till she makes me blind." She had an eye for the intimate moment: one of her most memorable photographs is of Nehru hugging Vijaylakshmi Pandit. | | AUTHORSPEAK: KALPANA SWAMINATHAN | | | The Private Eye  When it comes to cracking murder mysteries, Kalpana Swaminathan trusts none but Lalli, "a stylish, elegant woman in her 60s, who is observant and has an eye for every minute detail". Lalli, by the way, is the newest crime buster in Indian fiction-and a rarity, for there are not too many women detectives around. "Among other things, she collects curiosities and walks practically alone through the world of crime that is mostly dominated by men," reiterates Swaminathan, 48, a surgeon and the author of a new thriller, Page 3 Murders (Roli Books). Although retired from police service, Lalli is her former department's last resort when it comes to solving murders. No wonder every homicide file, we are told, has one page marked "L.R." meant for Lalli. "I created Lalli in her 60s as women of that age are usually less restricted and have no hang-ups," says Swaminathan, adding, "they are more curious and are naturally interested in human beings. Therefore, they often make better detectives when compared to men. "This is the first of the Lalli mysteries and Swaminathan sticks to the tried and tested murder formula. She intends to bring out a series-"depending on the appreciation Lalli gets"-with The Gardener's Song next in line, to be published in 2007. Although this is Lalli's first appearance in a full-fledged book, she was in action in Swaminathan's short story Cryptic Death, published in 1997. "A party book, filled with fun, enjoyment and music," her whodunit is a work Swaminathan is rather modest about. "It is an ideal weekend retreat where food, intrigue and a sense of humour are served on a platter," she says, underlining the fact that "all dishes can be safely tried out". Because of the catchy title, readers are likely to take the book as a Page 3 fiction, but Swaminathan clarifies: "The book in reality has nothing to do with the people of that stratum. It is all about aspirations and a life that we would want to be part of. Though all of us trivialise the society pages, they are the first ones we look at in the morning." Has she in any way been inspired by her profession as a surgeon? "I have consciously edited out everything I put in sub-consciously," she responds. But Lalli's life has just begun, and her investigation is bound to go beyond Page 3. " -By Paramita Chatterjee | | Homai's camera chronicles ended in 1970 when she retired but her work remains an important document on the making of Indian history. Despite her unique status and access, Homai was extremely modest and self-effacing and many of her historic pictures would have gathered dust had it not been for a chance meeting that led the author to her door and unearth them for posterity, where they rightfully belong. They are truly evocative images of a remarkable period of history taken by a remarkable woman. |
