Exhibition ‘Isa Mostra’ presents impressive monochrome photos

Nagpur: A mélange of black and white photographs greeted visitors at the inauguration of Aarohanam Art Society and its ally The Nagpur Photography Club’s exhibition ‘Isa Mostra’.
Inaugurated on Saturday morning at Chitnavis Centre, the photographs, curated from not only the city but also abroad, touched upon a gamut of perspectives. All of these monochrome-themed photographs have been clicked by amateur photographers.The exhibition will remain open for visitors till august 20, from 11am to 8pm.
Chief guests CA Tejinder Singh Rawal and photographer Pratima Patil inaugurated the exhibition.
Rawal said, “Monochrome immediately takes you back to the bygone era. It connects memory and depicts transformation. It is everybody’s nostalgia,” she said, adding that the photographs had done justice to the theme.
“The story that a photograph tells me is different from what it tells you, and photographers are the best observers,” he added.
Patil shared how she entered the world of photography. “I was only a homemaker and my husband used to own a children’s photo studio. After he got a paralysis attack, I decided to learnt to click pictures,” she said.
“We wanted to give this platform to those who are doing it for non-commercial purposes and are new to the field,” said organizer Kamlesh Mulchandani. This is the third consecutive year of the exhibition, and 210 participants have sent entries.
From among the 125 entries displayed, 40 are from Nagpur, including school students, said Amit Dutta.
Fashion photographer Rafique Sayed has curated as well as judged the photographs. Ranita Roy from Kolkata, Sanak Roychoudhury from Oman and Shubhamita Kaajol Poddar from Kolkata won the first, second and third prize respectively.
Students Divyanshu Dutta, Shreya Kale, Vaibhav Deshmukh, Atharva Mangrulkar and Shreya Katkar were among the Nagpurians who received a notable mention for their photograph.
Photojournalist Sangita Mahajan also attended the event. On August 20, a workshop on ‘How to evolve as a photographer’ will be conducted by noted photojournalist Sameer Ashraf from 10am to 2pm.