India’s young photographers have shone brightly in the Andrei Stenin Press Photo Contest Exhibition inaugurated at the All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society (AIFACS) Gallery in New Delhi on April 4. This annual photo contest brought together compelling visual narratives from across the world including Spain, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, and many more.
Andrei Stenin Press Photo Contest is a Russian platform that aims to give a platform to young photojournalists and set a high standard for documentary photography in Russia and the world.
The exhibition presented powerful stories that moved souls and started conversations. But what truly stood out was the photographs showcased by the Indian photographers, whose award-winning frames went beyond just aesthetics and became instruments of awareness, resistance, and cultural storytelling.
Rajendra Mohan Pandey, who is a Kolkata-based documentary and street photographer won first place for his image titled The Outcast Widows. This series was named “A Hero of Our Time” featuring three pictures that showed deeply emotional images depicting the lives of widows in Vrindavan. Pandey’s pictures gave space to the quieter, more personal stories that rarely find space in the mainstream media. These simple images spoke volumes about abandonment, ageing, and the strength of the human spirit.
A visitor looking at the pictures displayed at the exhibition
The sorry state of Yamuna also found its place in the exhibition to share its story through the picture captured by Apratim Pal. His picture titled “Struggle for Existence” was captioned, “In a polluted river filled with froth from toxic waste discharge, a fisherman sets out to fist. The scene rese,bles a journey through icebergs.” This picture of Pal won the ‘Jury Honourable Mention'. The froth in Yamuna which was beautifully captured by Pal is caused by industrial waste which creates an illusion of floating glaciers. This photograph doesn't just speak of survival but also confronts the viewers with the realities of pollution and environmental neglect in the heart of India’s capital.
Another heart-wrenching visual came from Kaushik Dutta, whose still from the Balasore train tragedy captured the chaos, grief, and aftermath of one of India’s deadliest train derailments which claimed hundreds of lives. Kaushik also won the ‘Jury Honourable Mention ' for this picture that showed the mangled carriages and scattered belongings serving as a haunting reminder of the lives lost and people injured due to lack of safety measures.
Dipayan Bose presented a vibrant shot of a cattle race in Bengal celebrating the rural traditions. This image of Bose is a tribute to the agrarian culture, community bonds, and the rural tradition that continues to thrive in the race of modernity bagged the ‘Jury Honourable Mention '.
The Andrei Stenin Press Photo Contest is named in memory of the Russian photojournalist Andrei Stenin who lost his life covering conflict in Ukraine. This platform named after him is specially made for young aspiring photojournalists and this year, Indian photographers used that stage to bring attention to their country’s most pressing concerns—environmental degradation, infrastructural failure, and social exclusion while celebrating the quiet dignity and cultural richness of its people.
