Art Edition: Day 2 – Biswaroop Podder

July 15, 2020July 20, 2020 admin 0 Comments art in the times of corona, Bengali artist, Biswaroop Podder, kolkata, Kolkata street photography, kolkata videos, The Times Of Corona, times of corona

Biswaroop Podder is a Kolkata based photographer, videographer and a student pursuing his B.Tech. Over the past few years, his passion for photography and eye for detail have only become more refined. His photographs are predominantly of the Kolkata streets and lifestyle genre. The gear used in the pictures that follow is the Canon 760D. His frames capture action in a way which distills a moment – moments that are rife with indecision, possibility and all the accompanying emotions which sight encompasses.

While the DSLR that he laid his hands on was bought for the purpose of taking pictures at a cultural program, it soon became a source of release as well as relish for Biswaroop as he realized he was quite decent at taking pictures, and “pretty much sucked at anything else”. Photography became a solution to this frustration and helped his mind find some stability. He says he has no huge expectations from this venture, his photographs, and his videos. It makes him happy. He gets to meet new people, look them in the eye, and capture their moments. There is joy and satisfaction enough in that.

Biswaroop has been primarily invested in street photography, even though it poses quite a bit of challenges and difficulty. He would go about in the streets of Kolkata on weekends taking pictures. He hopes to return to the same streets after the lockdown, in search of new strangers and new moments.

“A view of the Howrah Bridge, a symbol of Kolkata, from the 13th floor of Nandaram Market in Burrabzar. It is probably one of the most difficult photographs I have ever taken. Firstly, the market was under reconstruction. Getting a permit to the 13th floor was difficult. I somehow managed to get permission, pretending to be a representative from a magazine. Then, the roof on the 13th floor was totally open, without any railings or fencing. Added to this, there was a storm coming and the monsoon showers had started. Balancing the tripod on the open windy roof, keeping it from shaking and me from falling over as I took the picture..the experience was unforgettable.”

A kid training his dog at the Ghoom Monastery

An old woman sitting outside an old-age home, clicked in the alleys of Nandakumar Street. The birds flocking about, juxtaposed against the wrinkled old lady, sitting at the door for so long it seemed she was transfixed to the spot. A story in contrasts.

“This is a picture I began to dwell over only in retrospect. It was a whim of the moment that I decided to position my camera in this way, with the men lighting a *chillum* while a man lay on the street already intoxicated. However, its better to interpret the picture in one’s own way.”

Clicked at Mullick Bajar Ghat, what makes this photo stand out is its monochrome posturing, the two men cleaning their steel plates while engrossed in gossip and the boy emerging from a bath in the waters.

You can take a look at more of Biswaroop’s work on his Instagram page. Along with photography, Biswaroop has also tried his hand at videography, a glimpse of which we present below. May this remind you of the streets we so miss:

City in my Shoes

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We welcome your articles, stories, poems (in বাংলা or English) and artwork at timesofcorona@gmail.com

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