Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
Photograph © Aishwarya Arumbakkam
ka Dingiei is a story about human environment conflict and indigenous issues. It’s set in Lama Punji, a Khasi village located at the border of India and Bangladesh. When a community loses land, there is visible loss of property and livelihood. But there are deeper, intangible losses - the loss of culture, mythology, knowledge systems, and identity that arguably are more valuable. Re-interpreting an ancient Khasi myth, ka Dingiei is an allegorical exploration of these ideas.
[Supported by Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography 2019, SSAF.]
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At the time of our 1:1 Interview with Aishwarya, she was asked these questions about ka Dingiei.
PSA: What got you interested in working on your project ka Dingiei?
AA: I visited Lama Punji in 2015, during a residency at Pathshala. My interest in storytelling and mythology made me curious about oral histories in the region. At the same time, if you are in Lama Punji, the severe impact of environmental destruction is unavoidable. I started pulling on these threads and that is what is becoming ka Dingiei now.
PSA: Since your project ka Dingiei is collaborative with the people you are photographing, can you describe your process of arriving at the image?
AA: The process of arriving at an image for ka Dingiei continues to change over time. I work quite slowly, and we spend time finding the image. Long term engagement has also allowed me to try different approaches that have opened new possibilities. Often someone decides they want to or don’t want to do something. There is a lot of chance involved. Any pre-existing idea of an image is only used as a starting point to gather around and begin spending time together with the camera. Changes in our methods also make things less boring for all of us.
20 November
