East or WestBengal is the Best!

Ujwala Prabhu

I grew up in West Bengal and now live in Bangladesh which wasformerly known as East Bengal. Having lived and visited manycities I can easily say ­ East or West, Bengal is the best!Familiarity with the people, their culture and all of that is aninherent part of me now. There may be other places which havehad their charms and taken my heart for a while but it alwaysreturns to Bengal.People, their moods, expressions, interactions and emotions are anongoing source of curiosity and interest to me. What I’m searchingfor is their inner personalities, their thoughts and there are stories Ibuild around them as I work. I like portraying feelings of peoplewhen they are alone, lost in their thoughts, caught unawares. Thoseare the special moments that appeal to me most. I love toexperiment and while I use a variety of medium ranging from oil,charcoal, printmaking, clay and the digital medium. Photography isa recent addition. Regardless, my focus remains fixed on thehuman figure.The exciting part about SoFoBoMo is not only in the taking ofPhotographs but in putting it all together into a book. I'm learningabout Scribus for the first time in the bargain. The Photographsmay not be upto the mark in terms of quality but I hope theyconvey my feelings on the subject.The images that follow have been taken in both Bangladesh andWest Bengal. Mostly within the city limits of Dhaka and Kolkata.The focus has been on the rural and working people with whom Ifeel a kinship I cant explain. I feel that they have lesser layers andfacades. They share and show what they feel. They have learnt tofind happiness within the means they have. And I feel honouredwhen I can share these moments with them. I hope you enjoy theimages.

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