PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION : Fotomedia Production presents Through Dad’s Eyes : Lahore 1946 – Delhi 1966, at India Habitat Centre - 7th to 14th Jan 08

lahore 1946 through dad eye photographs
  • Time : 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
  • Event Info : Fotomedia Production presents Through Dad’s Eyes: Lahore 1946 – Delhi 1966.
  • About Radhika's Dad : Dad was an engineer.
  • He was born in Kapurthala in 1921 and brought up in Lahore. He never went to school. He was refused admission in the Doon School because he wore a turban. His father hired a governess to teach him. Against family opposition he stopped wearing the turban in his late teens. One day Dad heard a young woman sing at a mutual friend’s party. Her name was Prem Bery. Dad fell in love with her. The Berys lived next door to the Singhs, in their respective mansions in Lahore. Her family opposed the relationship. Dad pursued Prem through letters, phone calls, and common friends. He would follow her phaeton in his car through Lahore to the steps of her college, asking her to marry him. He arranged fancy lunch parties in Dalhousie, a summer resort frequented by both families, to see Prem. Dad co-founded a company with two friends. Their names were Ranjit Rai and Yudi Nanda The company was called Escorts Ltd. Escorts shifted to Delhi after Partition, along with the partners. Dad drove a Humber out of Lahore in 1947 carrying whatever he could retrieve of his family’s belongings. Prem’s father did the same. Her piano was rescued and brought out of a rioting Lahore. Both families lost their homes, and came to Delhi as refugees. Dad married Prem in 1948 in Delhi. Escorts lost Yudi Nanda in a plane crash. Yudi’s brother became the Managing Director of the company. His name was Hari Nanda. Escorts Ltd grew to become one of the pillars of industry in Independent India. Prem and Jit were an integral part of the Escorts’ family, and Delhi was the heady capital of their empire.
  • About the Exhibition : Dad was also a photographer.
  • He died in 2004 in New Delhi. He has left a legacy of photographs and films that he shot over 40 years of his life. He has extensively photographed the two passions in his life -his wife, Prem, and the people associated with Escorts. This material is a record of a life of total commitment to a relationship, and to an organization. It is also an invaluable documentation of the lifestyle of a Punjabi community, and its contribution to the building of modern India.
  • ‘Through Dad’s Eyes’ is an exhibition of Dad’s photographs and some of his films. Through the 57 years of their marriage, Ma and Dad wrote extensively to each other, and exchanged cards on every occasion. Some of these personal mementos will also be displayed as an integral part of the story. A year or so after Dad passed away, Ma agreed to narrate the story of her life on film. Dad’s films have filled in the visuals in this film. The film is called ‘My Mother’s Life’
  • Curated and designed by : Radhika Singh and Alpana Khare.
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION : Fotomedia Production presents Through Dad’s Eyes : Lahore 1946 – Delhi 1966, at India Habitat Centre - 7th to 14th Jan 08 PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION : Fotomedia Production presents Through Dad’s Eyes : Lahore 1946 – Delhi 1966, at India Habitat Centre - 7th to 14th Jan 08 Reviewed by rohit malik on Monday, January 14, 2008 Rating: 5

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