AVANCA | CINEMA 2014
Story of Photo Studios in Tamilnadu
Maniyarasan Rajendran Cheran School of Architecture, Tamilnadu, India Abstract Memory, imagination and enthusiasts are a few tools left to reconstruct the stories of old photo studios of Tamil Nadu in India. Each photograph, mostly unknowingly, became a great cultural reserve. What remains of the studios now are just crumbling buildings and heavy-hearted owners, full of fascinating experiences nevertheless. The spaces are resonant of their faithful practice and an unraveled history of Indian photography. An understanding of photography in these very spaces throws light on the historical and cultural specificity of the practice. This research will bring together the varying kind of Photographers, everyone attached to their profession in their own ways. These interactions of old and new churns out interesting tales including one about an old belief that getting clicked can reduce the lifespan of a person. This made people allow photographs to be clicked only after a person died, thereby making the deathbed change into a studio space replete with the accessories of the dead. Through many such tales it is evident that these studios were much more than what the remnant photographs reveal. They house not only the smell of old chemicals and flashlight burns vying with dust, but also a morsel of history greatly forgotten. Like a hopeful archaeologist, the film seeks to explore these skeletons of the studios, which are soon to disappear from view, drowned by the split second digital era. Keywords: Studio Photographers, Memory, Reconstructing History, Studio Spaces, Cultural History. “Tattered ‘round the edges, And faded now with time; Memories that linger still, Are what they left behind. Like a precious package, Kept in a secret room, Each memory a treasure, A family heirloom”
Introduction An exploration into the old studios suggests a significant contribution of the studio photographers in building the cultural face of photography in India and is reminiscent of a past, of a history that has hardly been visited and is mostly lost into time or is on the verges of being so. In the context of development of photography in India, it was perhaps the studios, where professionals expanded their practice and it is for this reason that old photo studios become an important point of consideration and deserve a bigger research, where the history of photography in India is waiting be unraveled. To further the argument, an understanding of photography in these very spaces should lead us into understanding the historical and cultural specificity of the practice. Interesting tales emerge, including one about an old belief that getting clicked can reduce the life span 28
of a person which made people allow photographs to be clicked only after a person died; making the death bed change into a studio space around. Through thorough research, one discovers retold narratives and experiences of surviving photographers of yesterday’s generation suggesting that these studios were much more than what the remnant photographs reveal. Incidentally, the photographic records about those smaller, rural studios are far and few, and what went on there is left to one’s imagination. Each one was different and yet they were all dependent on social and historical processes- constantly negotiated, frequently changing and often strongly contested.
Image 1 Kins of the same family. (Credits SKC Studios, Karaikudi)
The Connect and disconnect It took a little time, to reminisce of yesterday, to review our lives in the past recorded in photographs. Be it a little kid or a senescent granny, being photographed has always brought an instant smile in faces since yesteryears. Capturing moments that are gone forever and cannot be reproduced is what we liked about those visuals. There exist two people in every photograph for sure - the photographer and the viewer and that is where the magic lies. Photographs take pride and privilege in bringing out the essence by slicing moments and freezing them forever. Nevertheless, pictures savour your life. We, here in our country, had photo studios playing a vital role in our lives. Even the deprived and underprivileged sectors craved to demonstrate their inheritance through photographs in their one room hut. Photo studios were once a deepest desire and great source of pleasure serving as an element of surprise thereby giving an elated feeling to everyone. What now is treated as a matter of just clicks was once considered a treasure and held with different esteem. Photo studios were able to convey the emotions. Miracles happened just within a black cloth. Any 80’s kid would