Chennai (Tamil Nadu): In a stunning collection of breathtaking monochromatic photographs, a renowned photographer from Tamil Nadu turns the clock back - from 'Chennai to Madras'.
August 22 every year is celebrated as Madras Day to commemorate the founding of the city of Chennai, which was earlier known by that name. In honour of the day and to show his profound love for the city, Ramachandran, an international photographer released a compilation of photographs titled 'Chennai to Madras'.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, the photographer said, "I thought of going back to the olden days through my book 'Chennai to Madras'. I am going backwards from Chennai to Madras. This book is to show how I would have seen and visualised the city had I been here during those olden days."
Here are excerpts from the interview:
Q - Generally, they will record how much 2020 has grown in comparison with the old times. But what inspired you to record the city's history backwards?
This book has pictures taken during the COVID-19 lockdown. The coronavirus pandemic is making everyone go backwards. That is exactly what I have done, as this is a good opportunity for us to understand ourselves. This coronavirus lockdown is the time for us to reconnect and renew the forgotten events. In that sense, I thought of recording the forgotten things in Chennai City. There are many places that we don't remember even though we see them quite often. I have created such a photo gallery. Each picture belongs to 'Madras' and not Chennai. Because Madras was the first to emerge. Therefore, I named the book 'Chennai to Madras'.
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Q - How many pages does this book have?
Currently, 440 pages are ready. We have 60 more pages to post. This is a book with a total of 500 pages. It features 100 photographs. Since there is in depth research involved, all pictures are extremely informative. These photos provide information about the old buildings, Koovam river, Churches and old bridges.
Q - You have photographed the buildings without posters, billboards and any signs of the present buildings. How did you do that?
Chennai City was truly clear during the coronavirus lockdown. Not only that, but naturally the sky looked very beautiful with clouds. Generally, if you to go Mount Road or Paris Corner, you cannot notice the old building over there. Due to the crowds and air pollution we cannot clearly see those buildings. But during the Corona curfew, those buildings looked as beautiful as if they had taken us back to those olden days without excessive population. With a view to make the buildings look beautiful, we removed the people even though they were there, cleaned up that space and took the picture from a different angle.
Q - Though these photos have been taken now, they look old. Did you take any reference to do that?
Nothing can be done without reference. I am not doing anything new that nobody has done. I just took the reference from what has already been there. For this, I bought a 14 mm angle lens.
If you take photographs using this lens, the beauty of the building really comes out. During those olden days, only this lens was used extensively for photography. I took pictures of some buildings using drones. The reason was that the entire building was full of trees and plants. I used the drone to take photos over the Chennai High Court building and the Law College building.
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Q - Do you use any exclusive camera for this?
Generally, I always use the latest high quality camera. I bought a new camera just 15 days ago. I was the first person in Tamil Nadu to buy that model of the camera. I have so much liking towards that camera. I took these photographs using the cameras which I always use. No camera was used specially for this.
Q - Were all the photos featured in the book taken using a camera or were they artificially created using software?
Those are my hand-clicked photos in their entirety. However, I have used Photoshop in certain places. The reason for this was that some people were lying and just sitting in front of the building. This could not be avoided, because they are the ones who are already suffering because of the pandemic. Therefore, I do not bother them, and instead opt to use technology in some places.
Q - Photos like this are usually put up in an exhibition. But what made you publish them in the form of a book?
I really like books. There are books in my office and in my house as well. Whenever I feel sad, I take a book and have a look at it. The words and pictures in books remind us those things that we have forgotten. It brings joy to the mind, and the feeling is not quite the same with the digital ones. So, I decided to publish this as a book. Even after a hundred years, it will still feel good when I look at this book. If the same thing is published as a photo gallery, people will remember it only for a day or two. But the book is a treasure and it will be a useful thing for the next generation. That is why I decided to publish it as a book.
Q - How much time did the project require?
I am still shooting even today. I have been taking photos since the end of March until now. Some more places have to be photographed. I will annexe them to this book after the publication. Proper permission is required to photograph older buildings. Therefore, I took the help of media friends to take photos. I took the photographs that I shot and went to the Commissioner of Police and put forth a request that this work could have been done better if proper permission was given. They accepted it and gave us permission. In some cases, we were only permitted to take an exterior view of the building. Special permission is required to photograph the infrastructure of the building. We have applied for it. Once we obtain the permission, we are going to take those photos and attach them to the book.
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