Imageine: Outsider’s gaze

I believe there is no way one can walk away from an image without an opinion. In my career as a photographer, I have documented contemporary artists of India, the Bene Israeli Jewish community, special children for an NGO called Prabhat and the Parsis of Ahmedabad, among other projects.

My ‘Parsis of Ahmedabad’ series was supported by India Photo Archives, Museo Camera and Felix Schoeller. The Parsis migrated over a thousand years ago from Persia to escape persecution and are a diminishing minority in India today. Even though they have lived in India for several centuries, their unique cultural behaviour and religious practices offer a glimpse into the remnants of their past history. If Parsis marry outside their religion, they cease to be a part of the community. This practice is also responsible for their diminishing numbers.

As I visited Parsi homes in Ahmedabad, I realised that while each home was unique, there was a thread connecting them. The photographs of relatives, the toran (door hanging) made of beads, antique floral crockery, their pets, their love for nature — apparent in everything, including the use of floral prints, decorative flowers, whether fresh or artificial — and the lingering influence of the British.

At Parsi gatherings, one comes across peals of laughter and kisi koti (hugs and kisses), which give a glimpse of a fun-loving, close-knit community.

I grew up in Mumbai, where Parsis were a part of my formative years in the form of friends, teachers and principals. It is a community that I have been in touch with for many years, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to engage with them as a professional, looking in from the outside.

Observing small details, looking at them from a stranger’s perspective, and presenting them to the outside world has been a deeply fulfilling experience.

— Curated by Aditya Arya, director of Museo Camera, Gurugram