Ekadesh Ma, an exhibition with a difference!
I was enthralled after visiting a photo exhibition entitled "EKADESH MA....." by an amateur photographer, Sumir Shrestha at DFID old building, Ekantakuna, Lalitpur. It had been a worst weather in the valley since a week ago and my mind was perplexed due to dull life schedule and weather condition, still hazy and dizzy while I entered to the gallery on Saturday evening but my mood changed immediately and became bewildered after observing 38 breathtaking images that were captured within the time span of nearly four years (2017 to 2021).
It is said that photography is an austere and blazing poetry of real. These photographs on display seems to be the poetic lines failed to be put on words but wonderfully captured in frames of photographic lenses. According to the young photographer, he had captured all the images within the recent years in the vicinity of his own area, Kathmandu valley. These thirty eight awesome pictures boast thirty eight stories of its own such as an image of the Living Goddess Kumari peeping from a side window at her divinely abode Kumarighar, It was captured on a fine Saturday morning around 9-10am when devotees throng to her abode for her sight and blessing, few days prior to the imposition of lockdown.She was having a few minutes break and the photographer's eyes were quite sensitive to capture her relaxing moment. The images on display now showcases almost all the World Heritage Sites of the valley but the moments, light, angle and the theme they carry are completely different from the photographs of the same places taken time and again by various arrtists in the past and in order to find out the major difference, one has to visit the gallery himself. It seemed as if the budding photographer had been busy visiting and exploring the worries of ethnic people residing in different parts of the valley when we all were locked down during the pandemic breakout. To the contrary, some of his pictures brings out the vibrant colors of festivities celebrated here like an image of a chariot awaiting for goddessKumari in the time of Indrajatra. Similarly, his images of Bouddhanath Stupa with its aerial view taken with the help of a drone or pictures of Durbar Squares illuminated with the glow of lights at evening or an image of Swayambhunath Stupa from a different angle would definitely fascinate anyone's eyes.
All the images are printed in the world famous German etching matt paper known as Hahnemuhle with the perfect lavish framing of simple wood made in Patan Industrial Area and the price range is Rupees 10,000 above which is just a minimal pricing because the photographer's sole objective of this exhibition is to awake praise and likeliness for photography which he says is lacking in today's social networking arena. If he had posted his photos in his Facebook wall or Instagram, people would simply scroll them and won't understand the core theme and value of photographic moment so he appeals every photo lovers to visit his exhibition once since it will last till 9th April. The gallery time is scheduled at 11am to 6 pm without any entry fee. Finally, "Ekadesh Ma..." images evoked a powerful sensation in me that actually the lens is our eyes or view that can seizure the storylines that each image can speak as Ansel Adams has put it so right that 'you don't take a photograph, you make it'.
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