New Delhi, Nov 26 (PTI) In one of photographer Gaurav Bharadwaj’s works a candle sits on a wooden table, the flame has just gone out leaving a wisp of white smoke emanating in unnatural angles as if it were strokes of a pen.
Poet-lyricist Gulzar complements the striking black and white image with his inimitable verse – "Koi rishta to raat se hoga | shama kya likh gayi andhere par" (The flame scribbled something in the dark | Was there an affair with the night).
The verse and the photo are part of a visual-poetic collaboration between Bharadwaj and Gulzar that started some 20 years ago, "give or take", as the photographer remembered.
The exhibition, titled "Zaaviye" (Perspective), at the Visual Arts Gallery features 32 of Bharadwaj's black and white photographs, shot over the last three decades, accompanied by Gulzar's verses, written exclusively for this set of works.
"I don't remember exactly when it started. Nearly 20 years, give or take. I took a few of my photographs to Gulzar sahab and requested him to write poetry on the emotions they evoked in him. Then I kept shooting and he kept writing for me," Bharadwaj told PTI.
In another photograph, Bharadwaj offers a panoramic view of the Taj Mahal and the other coast of the Yamuna through what appears to be three windows in a dilapidated old structure.
Gulzar's accompanying poem reads: "Behati hui Jamuna hai tere paanv me, kya mumkin hai | Us khidki se beh kar tu is khidki me aa jaye" (Abounding Jamuna flows under your feet, is it viable | You flow from that window to the other).
The Delhi-based photographer remembered being asked by Gulzar to pen his thoughts to reflect the emotions he must have felt while capturing a specific shot.
"One day he said, 'when you shot these pictures, what did you feel? What did you think? Whatever it is, write it down for me. Because my life and my experiences are different'. So, writing was a big task for me. But I wrote, anyway," Bharadwaj said.
The exhibition also features the early frames with Bharadwaj's musings in Hindi and English in pen and Gulzar's improvisations in Urdu, written with a pencil.
Bharadwaj described one of his photographs – of a locked wooden door – as "Sirf tala aur darwaza reh gaya hai, piche sara ghar dheh gaya hai" (Only the lock and the door are left; the whole house behind them has collapsed).
Gulzar's poetic turn to the image rendered it as "Baandho samaan chalo taale laga do | Kitne din kacche makaano me rahenge" (Pack your belongings, lock everything up | How long can one stay in temporary houses).
"If you ask me, I find some pictures average. In many instances, the picture is left far behind than the words. But when it comes with a thought, its meaning changes," the 56-year-old said.
The poet-lyricist, who could not attend the show’s opening on Tuesday, sent an audio message commending Bharadwaj’s work.
"The pictures that you have collected, if you try to find a physical presence in them, or if you feel a great message in them, or if you try to read them, then it will be a little difficult. Because these pictures are in a way abstract. Feelings are not physical. The feeling comes from moments slipping away with passing time – moments that you have held onto with remarkable skill," Gulzar said.
He added that in these pictures Bharadwaj has picked up "a drop from the flow of time and made it immortal".
"...to make it immortal is such a great thing. You have done a great thing. In your pictures, I could hear the echo of your voice and I have tried to give that voice words in such a way that it becomes part of the pictures," he said.
Bharadwaj also released a coffee table book of the exhibited photographs and poetic verses.
The exhibition will come to a close on November 30.