Capturing untold tales through women shutterbugs

CHENNAI: Showcasing the documentaries and photo series of five women photographers from different parts of Tamil Nadu, who were selected and trained under the Kanavu fellowship, the recently concluded Kadhaigal Pala Kana exhibition presented impactful visual stories celebrating resilience. The five lens women are Bhuvaneshwari, Sakthi Varshini, Varshini Senthil, Varshini S and Janani Kulanthaisamy. The fellowship is conducted by Studio A, CPB Foundation and SPI Edge.

“We started the fellowship to bridge the gender gap in the industry. This is named Kanavu as it aims to realise the dream of everyone to become empowered someday,” says Amar Ramesh, founder of Studio A.

Gayatri Nair, co-founder of CPB Foundation, shares that the fellowship is free of cost and for people above 18 years of age. “We select candidates, who have an eye for good pictures. This program also allows the fellows who come from remote parts of the state, to expand their presence in the field,” she states.

Giving us insights about the working of the fellowship, Habiba Begum, project coordinator, explains, “This is our third batch and towards the end of the year-long program, the photographers will be trained from basics of photography to filmmaking.”

During the Kadhaigal Pala Kana exhibition, five documentaries of the photographers were filmed and a photo exhibition was also displayed.

FILMING SOCIALLY IMPACTFUL TALES

I am a budding social worker, who has been interested in photography since childhood. However, my family was against my desire to become a photographer. After going through a lot of struggles, I enrolled in the Kanavu fellowship. For my documentary, titled Karpi which translates to educate, I shot the inspiring journey of Sankareswari from Gomespalayam, Madurai, who has been emphasising the importance of education to the next generation of sanitation workers for more than a decade, so that one is pushed to the caste-based occupation. Through my photo series, Face of Uzhavar Sandhai, I captured the emotions of the farmers, who come to the traditional market. I wish to tell the untold stories of people around me and also expose them to things they are not aware of because photography is a universal language.

AIMS TO CREATE EQUALITY

During my college days, I joined a studio to enhance my photography skills, but it went in vain because of the pandemic. I faced a lot of hardships to follow my passion, so I wanted to shoot the success story of a woman for my documentary. Be In Harmony With Nature visually tells the entrepreneurial journey of Vijaya from Thanjavur, who started her business at the age of 50 making self-care products. I visited beaches often during my visit to Chennai. That inspired me to picture the rustic nature of the fishing community. With my camera, I aim to capture the reality of life and bring equality in the field.

CAPTURING RAW EMOTIONS

According to me, photography is a medium to explore the world. As I was interested in art, I wanted to document Kattai Koothu, which is a street play. Thilagavathi Palani is the first woman National Award winner in Kattai Koothu, which is a male-dominated art form. The art form is still embraced in many villages and towns, which is tagged as a dying one by many. All her interviews were in written format, so I decided to visually present her life. For my photo series, I wanted to shed light on vendors and artisans around Madurai’s iconic Meenakshi Amman Temple. I wish to see the raw emotions of people behind the masks through photography.

DOCUMENTING VINTAGE ELEMENTS

I am an artistic person, who wishes to capture small but happy moments around me. I wanted to give a tribute to my mother with my photo series and document a vintage element as well. The old ice vandi is a nostalgic element for many living in villages. My mother likes kuchi ice but is affected by cancer. Waiting for the ice cream has become a routine for my mother and I have captured that. Neer, my documentary revolves around the water pollution in Erode, especially in the Kalingarayar Canal, which was built in the 13th century. The path is around 92 km. I covered around 20 km, which was filled with waste. I aim to delve deep into this in future and research more.

NOTICE THE UNNOTICED

With a keen interest in photography, I want to delve deep into the mysterious world of nature by becoming a wildlife photographer. My photo series, A Bug’s Life, captures the habitat of insects in the concrete jungle. Through this, I want people to pause and notice things around them. For the film, I documented different crafts striving in North Chennai, including palm leaves craft, pot making and clay dolls, among others. I want to break the stereotypical way of filming and explore different perspectives of things around us.