Images that tell endless stories [Part 3]
If pictures could speak, they wouldn’t have stopped at a thousand words. But then, if pictures could indeed speak, who would have kept the count? It’s a given that humans, irrespective of gender and orientation, are visual creatures. Just that different views fascinate different people. What you see is what you beget. Every human being, including those who aren’t blessed with sight, want to see more, experience more, learn more. That’s what makes eyes so damn special. There has to be a reason why nobody ever says they heard something in their dreams. You are always watching. Which also explains the absolute rise of photography over the past two decades. Each one of us is clicking and clicking and clicking, filling up our phone memories, collecting images that we are never going to glance through again.
However, there are some striking images that make us grateful for the lens that captured them in the first place. I’ve compiled some of my all-time favourite shots last year as well as some earlier this year. It’s a drag to explain why a picture means so much to you, just like the pain of having to explain why a particular song shuts you up, or a specific scene in a movie resonates with your sensibilities. But when you are writing, you write. All you need to do is watch your language.
Let’s get going with this series –
We are all aware of how magnificent elephants are, but we don’t even try to gauge the extent of their courage when it comes to protecting their family members. This tribute of an image from the fag end of the 19th century makes you want to shed a tear for that braveheart and then some for our species for not finding a middle ground of sharing land with those whose footprints lay much deeper.
My idea of friendship is to sit with someone and talk for hours, passionately, jarringly, and most importantly, interestedly. When you look at this image of two of the most powerful men of their era—Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin—admiring the view during the post-Cold War bilateral talks, you feel better. Not to suggest that these two were the best of friends but to even sit together like that is a nice way to break the ice.
Speaking of power, nobody knows when it leaves. This affable image of Shah of Iran with his family, vacationing in the Alps in 1975, doesn’t tell you anything about the impending turmoil. At this point in history, Shah was the one of the only three ‘emperors’ left in the world. As of today, only one remains: Naruhito of Japan. In less than four years, he had to leave his country, paving the way for Islamic regime.
Those who grew up in houses that woke up to Suprabhatam would know what MS Subbulaxmis is all about. There are very few voices that can be considered divine, and she mixed her talent with charity in a manner never heard of before. Long before artists in the West embraced the idea of raising money for ‘causes’, MS was touring the world collecting funds and making a difference in a simple yet effective manner.
What you are seeing is considered to be the oldest painting ever. This cave painting is estimated to be from 45,000 years ago. Whoever bothered to sketch it had no idea that her work—the chances of the painter being a female is much higher—would be around for so long. A lot of time goes into creating something timeless. Da Vinci took almost 15 years to complete Mona Lisa. I wonder how much time this one covered.
The most intriguing facet of our society is we want to dictate the terms of our existence for others: how others should behave, walk, scream, etc. This picture of a woman protesting against swimwear in public can be a classic representation of being invested in others for the wrong reasons. The worst part being, there is no legit argument. Apparently, there is a place called hell where only bikinis are allowed.
Pablo Escobar was a lot of things at once. A proper rag-to-riches story from Colombia. According to Forbes, nobody else made more money in a single day; rubber bands to hold cash ran into millions. His drug-fuelled kingdom was a stuff of legend, and he died a fugitive at 44. Yet, the above image tells us that he was a doting father too, who wanted to take his children places, like any doting father would love to.
If your house is burning down, your dog would try to wake you up, but your cat might try to catch a nap. That’s the majesty of these wonderful creatures. Their comfort reigns supreme; everything else can wait. This photograph from World War 2 features a navy crew who are admiring a fast asleep feline that has no idea that a war is going on in its background. Better still, it has no reason to know what’s going on anyway.
What you are looking at here is a bunch of school kids in England fooling around with syringes. To them, it’s a toy, a tiny water pistol of sorts, to spray around in school backyard. But their innocence belies a growing drug problem United Kingdom was facing in the 1970s, in the wake of the hippie movement in the USA. Children see playfulness in everything; no wonder, they would confuse condoms with balloons too.
Say what you may about Lady Diana’s adulterous lifestyle, she had a good caring heart. When she went around raising awareness about issues contemporary celebs were least interested in, she ended up pushing the envelope of acceptability. In this image, she is warmly shaking hands with an AIDS patient, dispelling the rooted notion that AIDS is a communicable disease. She clearly understood the power of the visual medium.
Borders separate only one known species on this planet: humans. Now, imagine family members separated by an imaginary line, patrolled day and night, to ensure that nobody sneaks in or out. I am talking about the most militarized border in the world (Korea). And then, once in a long while, two brothers, who haven’t met each other for almost six decades, spend some time together, only to be separated again.
The contribution of women to the overall development of our species is a tale undercut by ingratitude. Forget arts, even the scientific world hasn’t been very enterprising towards them. When you read about how accomplished ladies in STEM were constantly discredited, you realize why sexism is still an uphill battle. In this picture, you see a technician quietly working on a complex IBM computer in 1950s.
In the 21st century, every group wants to be (perceived as) a victim. However, a century ago, Jews were victimized again and again across Europe, boiling onto the Nazi parade of Holocaust. There is no comparable event in recorded history. Some managed to escape, most were caught and persecuted. The act of defiance were few and far in between – like this Jewish lady here seated on a ‘Not For Jews’ bench.
Decency and morality are best not mixed. Something an interesting court case brought to light when an exotic dancer was charged with nudity in the United States. To make hera point, she stood in front of the judge and showcased that she wasn’t exposing anything as imagination plays a massive part in her profession. To her credit, the charges were dropped against her and she went back to work.
There is loyalty and then there is Hachiko. This is the last known picture of the very popular Japanese dog who never gave up on his master. He waited and waited and waited for him to return, and one day, when he passed away, they wrote poems and paeans for him, turning his love for his human into a phenomenon. If you ask me, all dogs are amazing, but some dogs are meant to be celebrated for ages.
Do you think the so-called animals will get together and have a grand party when we humans have left this planet? Asking because I wonder what would it take for us to accept the glaring reality that we aren’t doing enough to connect with the ‘others’. If we were a bit kinder, a bit wiser, we’d see that the speechless beings are sorted than we can ever be. Here’s a zoo director convincing an escapee chimp to return ‘home’.
When I first watched Titanic (1997) on Star Movies on the eve of 2000, I was blown away by the sheer scale: the tilting ship and whatnot. Later, during my journalism days, I was more interested in its making and had the good fortune to interview its producer, Jan Landau. He shared that it was challenging but fun to make the film. Just imagine the amount of fun these two crazily skilled actors must have had on the sets.