Pearls on Men

Pearls on men...not a new thing!

The Maharaja of Palanpur sits on a wooden chair dressed in an achkan, with pearls around his neck and a proud turban on his head. Dry flowers are strewn on the floor in front of him, and a green bush has been painted in the backdrop. In another frame, the Maharaja of Benaras stands beside an ornate chair, tightly holding his sword in one hand, and seeming rather photo-conscious in his churidar. The photographs, depicting the grandeur of the erstwhile royals, are among the 28 images that will comprise the exhibition titled Journey into the Time of the Maharajas at Gallery Art Motif.

The image of the Maharaja of Palanpur has been captured by KL Syed, the official photographer of the state of Palanpur and among the first Indians to handle a camera. The photograph is now placed carefully in the royal albums of Nawab Shri Taley Mohammed Khan Bahadur of Palanpur. 'It took a while for the photograph to be composed and one had to stand still for a long time,' says Abhishek Poddar, founder of Tasveer, who has organised the exhibition.

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