It was an out-of-focus photograph – of close friend and fellow artist Anjum Singh setting up her show at Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi – that started it all for Manisha Gera Baswani. A lesser eye would have perhaps rejected the ‘flawed’ image, but being an artist herself, Baswani knew that it had the quality of being ‘a work of art’ and that her penchant for photography had finally found a formal outlet. She has now spent over 12 years photographing some of the most intimate and personal moments from the lives of artists – some her seniors and others contemporaries – and today possesses an impressive collection of over 5000 images of well-known personalities in India’s art circles.
While she still thinks of her tryst with the camera as “only in the nascent stages as I have to yet master the technique”, her effort is being noticed. She was recently part of a group show on photography titled Lensing-It, writes a related column in the art magazine Take on Art and is in the middle of negotiations for a coffee-table book of her photographs.
“My first paid assignment actually came through my mother-in-law,” laughs the Gurgaon based artist whose paintings are well-known for beautifully woven narratives replete with folk and miniature idioms, “I might not even have taken on the project had it not been for her. As I drove around in the blistering heat of May in 2000 to find the suitable images, I took many photographs of roadside kiosks selling fruits. The images shot that afternoon, both of the industrial subjects and the cut watermelons, also found their way in what remains one of my favourite paintings to this day.”
The other reason that spurred Baswani’s interest in photography was a keen wish to photograph her mentor and celebrated veteran artist A. Ramachandran so that more people could be exposed to the reclusive artist’s philosophy of art and musings on life. “I wanted to capture my time with my guru on video, audio and through still photography. That process started 12 years ago. It was only five years later that I decided to extend this passion to capturing the artistic fraternity – my peers, friends and the senior artists in their studios and in other creative spaces.”
No wonder then that Baswani is seen carrying her Canon D 500 to sundry art openings in the city and putting even the most reticent of artists at ease with her warmth. The comfort both the photographer and her subjects share is evident from the delightfully tender and candid pictures Baswani owns – Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh holding his baby grandson on his lap, sculptor Prithpal Singh Ladi installing his piece, Mithu Sen shot from the back as she looks far away into space and many more.
“They are not conscious of me. Also, I never get in their way. Sometimes I get my perfect shot almost immediately and then there have been instances where I have had to spend several days waiting. At Devi Art Foundation, for instance, I spent several days shooting collectors Anupam and Lekha Poddar but it was only on the last day that I got the picture I wanted,” she recalls.
With easy access to some of most well-known and respected artists, gallerists and curators in the industry, Baswani’s job has indeed been more fun than work, and she claims she hasn’t found her “toughest subject” yet. “Rather than easy shots, I want to share my views on the images which have left me satisfied. My style is far removed from pre-set studio shots. Therefore, for me it is the anticipation I have, every time I hold a camera to get that one right shot.”
Sometimes, these are the unexpected moments that make for the most telling pictures. “I was photographing Nilima Sheikh put up her show over two days at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi last year. Late evening on the second day, her six-month-old grandson came with his mother to meet her. She lovingly held him in her warm embrace as she continued the display for the next few hours. That beautiful sight has not left me since then,” Baswami smiles at the memory. Each of her photographs, in fact, has a sweet tale behind it, like the picture where she caught her own son Angad pulling on veteran artist Himmat Shah’s beard, or when she clicked artists Riyas Komu and Ranbir Kaleka in a playful embrace during an art opening.
Photography, she says, has also enriched her art practice. “It has created opportunities for me to understand and observe many creative minds. Discussing ideas with other artists, listening to how their imagination gets fired has widened my own perspective and view point. Also, the artists, photographers, collectors and gallerists have given me ideas and suggestions generously. These discussions have been very open and collaborative. They have also created opportunities for more people to know me and my art better.”
Despite a growing recognition of her photographic work, Baswani, like any other creative mind, has her regrets – first, of not being part of the life and times of stalwarts like Gaitonde, Swaminathan, Hebbar and Barve. Second, and the bigger disappointment, is of not making that postponed trip abroad to shoot Husain.
As she says, “Life is full of ‘If only I knew’.”
Manisha Gera Baswani also conducts art walks for the residents of Central Park, Golf Course Road, Gurgaon, where she lives herself, on the history of Indian art. With funds released by the society’s RWA, she has bought posters of the works of various artists belonging to different periods and movements, got them framed and has hung them all along from Tower A to Tower K 2. For instance, Tower 1 has posters of Raja Ravi Varma, Tower B has Bengal School, Tower C displays those who chartered different paths like Amrita Sher-Gil and so on. You can contact the artist on manishabaswani@gmail.com