Richi Verma, Times of India, November 20, 2010
For the first time,visitors can catch the 19th-century photographers work, spanning three decades, at an exhibition at IGNCA.
Three decades of work of the 19th-century photographer,Raja Deen Dayal,has been displayed for the public at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) for the first time.The vintage collection includes his early documentation of heritage monuments in central India in the mid-1800 s to his photographic sojourn in the Nizams dominions towards the turn of the 20th century.
The IGNCA archive has 2,857 glassplate negatives in its collection out of which more than 200 photographic reproductions have been displayed for visitors in the exhibition.The exhibition is being held at the newlyopened twin gallery at IGNCA.The pictures on display represent a crosssection of Deen Dayals photographic career spanning three decades. One of the countrys largest art galleries,which was earlier just a storage dump,is being dedicated to the exhibition, said professor Jyotindra Jain,member-secretary of IGNCA and curator of the exhibition.
Deen Dayals penchant for photography dates back to 1854 when he was studying civil engineering in Roorkee.Photography was then introduced as a subject in the college and he immediately felt drawn towards it.In his first major work,he documented monuments of architectural heritage in central India.In the years that followed,he worked as the official photographer of several viceroys,and from 1885 onwards,he was a photographer at the court of the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad where he remained till his death in 1905.It was during the time he worked as a photographer at the court of the Nizam that he reached the zenith of his career.The title of Raja was conferred on him in 1984 by the Nizam.
Some of the unique photographs that are on display at the exhibition include rear view of the palace on lake,Udaipur (1882); Red Forts Diwan-e-Khas (1885); Writers Building in Kolkata (1900); Nizam of Hyderabad with his three daughters (1890); shikar expeditions of the Nizam of Hyderabad (1894); temple chariot in north/central India (1901),etc.
The images were carefully selected keeping in mind the aesthetic value and originality of the pictures.Though only about 200 photographs are on display,visitors can see all the 2,800-plus pictures from Deen Dayals inimitable collection in a film that is being played at all hours, said an IGNCA official.
All the 220 images displayed at the exhibition are digital reproductions of bromide silver photographs produced by the Raja Deen Dayal and Sons studio between 1988-89 and visually correspond to the 2857 glass-plate negatives that now form a part of the IGNCA collection. The current selection is drawn from a total of 300 images reproduced from the Raja Deen Dayal Studio Archives at IGNCA and the rest will form a part of the reserve for future exhibitions, added Jain.
Officials added that collections comprising Dayals vintage photographic prints are now scattered all over the world.
It was in August,1989,that IGNCAs cultural division acquired Dayals studio archives from his family in Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 19 lakh.The photographs today are worth several crores,say experts.
To view other images from this article, please browse the photo gallery below.