Jyoti Ray, Tribune News Service, New Delhi, December 23, 2009
“Bhutan: An Eye to History”, a photo exhibition showcasing Bhutan in its various hues, was inaugurated at National Gallery of Modern Art today by Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the King of Bhutan.
Speaking at the inaugural function, president of the Indian Council for Cultural Research, Karan Singh said that the photographs portray a picture of what Bhutan was, how it changed and what it is now.
Later in the day, visitors thronged the gallery to see the exhibition which attempts to look back into the Bhutanese history through a camera lens.
One of the highlights of the exhibition is the pictures clicked by the king himself.
On display are 88 images sourced from private collections in India and Bhutan. One of the earliest photographs of the Ashley Eden Mission in Bhutan in 1863 comes from the Alkazi collection. A photograph of Bhutan’s king and queen is taken from the collection of the Queen Grandmother of Bhutan Ashi Kesang Choeden Wangchuck. It was clicked at the Taj Mahal in 1954.
Kuensel Corporation has contributed with a photograph of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Thimpu in May 2008.
Pramod Kumar KG, who conceived the show with Namita Gokhale, said, “The exhibition includes several archival photographs that have never been exhibited before. This is the first time images clicked by the king are being exhibited.”
The different sections of the exhibition focus on several aspects. While one section captures the different moods of Bhutan and its people through the king’s camera, another section focuses on ‘History of Photography in Bhutan’.
Another section, ‘Indo-Bhutanese ties since 1949’, portrays state visits of political leaders from India and reciprocal journeys from Bhutan.
“The selection of images looks at the genre of documentary and press photographs and the slot created by them in the official narrative of nations. The king has traversed the length and breadth of his country, often on foot. His photographs are both an objective record and personal testimony of his empathy and engagement with his nation and add a different colour to the exhibition,” said Lily Wangchhuk, one of the curators of the exhibition who also manages the Wangchhuk Photography Club.