A nicely printed and designed book about the foremost Indian photographer during the Raj, Raja Deen Dayal. The book covers many of his finest photographs, and the rise and fall of his studio in Hyderabad. With historic documents, advertisements and other memorabilia, written by a historian of Hyderabad.
A superb book, with close readings of images loaded with history and crisp observations. Karlekar really knows how to decode photographic gestures. The richness of imagery still available, in this case from private collections all over India, is amazing.Read more
While initial chapters recount well known early Indian photographic history, the next ones comprise an intelligent and thought-provoking analysis of photography in Bengal and the role it played in mediating cultural relations between colonizers and the emerging Bengali middle and upper classes.Read more