Akansha Topno
Shillong, Jan 20: Meghalaya is celebrating its 51st anniversary, and an ongoing exhibition in the State Central Library in Shillong is an apt place to take people down the memory lane of days of yore. The exhibition is displaying many photo collections from centuries. It gives a rare glimpse into the early of Shillong and other parts of the state, when there were few cameras and fewer photographers.
This exhibition contains all the family collections and features photos by eminent photographers.
The exhibition started on 19th January and will end on 21st January. There are many photographs taken by different photographers, which gives out a feeling of nostalgia; photographs that will take one down the memory lane with mixed emotions and happiness.
It has collections of photographers like Aly Shadap, Roger Bilham’s collection – taken by Tom La Touche, and many more photo collections such as Postcards, Bhoot Family Collection, Sashi Teibor Laloo’s Family collections, Slide Films and Pradhan Family Photographs, et at.
Aly Shadap, a veteran practicing photographer and videographer, whose collection is also on display, developed his fondness for photography slowly which later turned into passion. According to the introduction written in the exhibition, he often rode his scooter across Meghalaya and sometimes even reached Assam to photograph, both for his work and out of sheer love for art. Shadap also documented various indigenous ceremonies, market space, festivals, religious ceremonies, landscape and people.
In the exhibition, his few photographs include indigenous Khasi Market along with photographs of vegetation produced in the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills as well as landscapes. Some religious festival photographs were also on display. He also took the initiative to visit the exhibition himself.
People can never forget the Great Assam Earthquake in 1987, which had its epicenter in the northern Shillong Plateau, which resulted in approximate 1,542 human casualties and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructures. The pictures from the Roger Bilham collection, which were taken by Tom La Touche, can bring back anyone in time when Shillong was suffering. This section of the Great Assam Earthquake is extracted from Roger Bilham’s compilation of Geological Survey of India. By the look of those, anyone can feel the devastation that the earthquake caused. Many people lost their lives and many lost their houses. The impact of the earthquake can be seen clearly in the pictures.
Photo collections like Pradhan Family Photographs and Bhoot Family Collection brought out more beauty in the exhibition. Bhoot Family collection was contributed by Priyal Agrawalla. It showed the history of the Bhoot family, who shifted to Shillong from Rajasthan in 1952 with the hope of earning money. They started by trading potatoes and later expanded to cloths and brooms. They later established their brand Bhoot.
On the other hand, Pradhan Family Collection, which was contributed by Shri Shiv K Pradhan, showed the life of the family enjoying life and doing various things. The photograph of an entire family can also be seen on the display, which was taken in 1970. These two collections show the life of two different families and their living.
More photographs like Postcards from the past where photo cards which were printed in the 19th century were on display, photographs of Iew Smit which was founded shortly after the partition of the Hima Mylliem and Hima Khyrim had its own section, and the Teer section displayed the photographs of the traditional sport of archery of the Khasis. In the display, the photos were taken in Polo Ground. The original version is only rarely practiced in the villages of Meghalaya.
The exhibition is organized by the Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Meghalaya. The exhibition is for three days. It is free of cost and anyone can visit and can admire the beauty of the photographs.
