Thursday, September 9, 2010

An old trunk filled with memories

Remember the feeling when you come across an old trunk lying in that dingy basement? A trunk that had been left ignored for years. Suddenly the air becomes heavy with suspense, hands reach out for the lid and eyes pop out in anticipation. What do you see inside?

Gandhi and Jinnah in a heated argument

Never-seen-before photographs of the Indian freedom movement and its leaders. About 10,000 of them! That's what photographer Aditya Arya found in his trunk that had been willed to him 20 years ago by his close friend, photojournalist Kulwant Roy.
"It was just mind boggling. How many people have seen images of (the) constitution being signed?" commented Arya.
He wishes that the photos be available in every school and college, so that people see and know what had happened behind the scenes during the freedom movement. Rightly so. We have been fed with a certain history according to the government prescribed history books in school. They usually present the story from one side, the side in favor of the government in power. Either praising the leaders of its party or criticizing those of the opposition.

Don't pictures speak louder than words? Going beyond what was told to them by (biased) books, the youth can make their own perceptions about history and kids will understand better what was going on at the political front. A treasure trove of history has been unlocked!

5 comments:

  1. From where do u find these topics? :P awesome yaar ... fresh change from the cliched stuffs.

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  2. But I think at times pictures too can be deceptive. Visuals depend on how you perceive them, isn't it? I'm not talking about this particular topic, its just a random thought :)

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  3. Thank you. Definitely! You can perceive a picture very differently from what it is. Pictures can mislead you.
    But they can also help confirm claims - if the thing happened to the degree it was described as.

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  4. I wish I had that trunk.

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  5. @ Akshat: Me too! That or any other trunk filled with undiscovered treasures.

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