A beyond par photojournalist hiding in shadows

For as long as I can remember, he’s been a fixture on the photojournalism beat — of the news reporting variety, that is. No glam-sham for him. Covering building collapses, fires, incidents of crime and riots, the 83-year-old journalist is an institution, but prefers to hide in the shadows of anonymity. In fact, I don’t know if Adi Sudder will smile or scowl, if this column comes under his scanner. His photo had to be acquired through a friend of his. Honestly, if I’d asked him for one, he’d have apologised, “Thanks, but no thanks.” A chronic bachelor, Adi has always lived with his sister in Byculla’s Rustam Baug. Foraying out everyday, in baggy cotton trousers and an unfussy shirt, he’s currently passionate about reporting on civic issues. Be it a broken fire hydrant or land encroachment, any malaise of city life arouses his ire. Not that he’s a militant sort. Given to a few words, he lets his pictures do the talking. A freelancer since decades, earlier he had worked with an English language newspaper, and then contributed regularly to Jame Jamshed and Bombay Samachar. Although he possesses a Pandora’s box full of rare and expensive photo equipment, today he carries a compact digital camera. Incidentally, you’ll never hear him lamenting about the unchecked evolution of technology, or about the rise of the aggressive breed of paparazzi. On the spot at the Bombay docks explosion of 1944, Adi has chronicled the city tirelessly. So, I’m surprised that no one has ever tracked him down for his photos for either books or exhibition on Bombay. Neither does anyone know that the diminutive lensman was a crack big game hunter and would once venture out on shikars for panthers and crocodiles. Amazing! About the only game, Adi partakes of now, is carrom. And believe this, he drinks colas spiked with a spoonful of beer, to keep his lager-guzzling friends company. Actually, his story is a long-and-winding one, with ceaseless anecdotes about the people he has met and photographed. One of them was Hollywood’s heartthrob Stewart Granger whom he encountered during the jungle locations of the adventure movie, Harry Black and the Tiger, back in 1958. And all that Adi will reveal about Stewart Granger is, “Oh, he was quite the ladies’ man. Don’t ask me more. I don’t gossip.” Here’s a singular man, then, who tells no tales, not even his own.