Capturing Delhi in captivating frames

What makes Delhi the way it is? It is very difficult to point out what constitutes a city and if the city is as complex as Delhi is, with mythology, history, culture, and politics entwined, where does one start and how does one maintain focus? However, economist Ahmed Firoz, who moonlights as a photographer, has attempted to capture the complexities of the city in captivating frames in his latest exhibition titled ‘Enigma: Street stories of Delhi’ going on at the India Habitat Centre.

Ahmed Firoz

About aiming to capture the uniqueness of Delhi, he explains, “Delhi is a big city. It’s the heart-throb of India but it doesn’t have a distinct culture of its own or a single identity. It has many faces. It is basically everybody bringing in their own cultures and thus, Delhi’s culture evolved as a melting pot. A lot of scintillating cultural performances takes place here. From a street play to one act, it has a space for everything. Though people are quite busy here, it is also a place, which can soothe your frayed nerves. I have not only captured Delhiites taking breaks from work, but also tourists coming here to get their quota of recreation. Then it is also a city of monuments. It has a glorious past and it is very alluring.”

Ahmed Firoz

Comparing different parts of Delhi, he adds, “For me, the world of Chandni Chowk is as amazing as the world of Connaught Place or some busy mall in Delhi. There are different life values, religions, identities and legacies here. So in each of my exhibitions I used to bring out one aspect of Delhi. This time the exhibition happens to be a mixture of all these elements.”

One of his earlier exhibitions called, ‘Monumental’ focused on the monuments of Delhi. Then, another two titled ‘Tangerine Tales’ and ‘Stage Alive’ focused on the different dance forms and the cultural hub that Delhi is. In addition to that, a different show focused on people taking breaks from the hustle-bustle of the city. Although a small part of his ongoing photography exhibition revolves around Delhi, he has still managed to bring out the beauty of the city.

“Delhi happens to be my home now. And it is not common for people to shoot their homes. We generally tend to take more photographs when we are away from our hometown. But I try to bring out the magic that Delhi holds,” he explains. For shooting Delhi engulfed in fog, he had very few days as he is a government employee, and can only shoot on weekends and holidays.

“Delhi has a different charm when it is engulfed in fog. But this fog remains roughly for a month. During weekends in winter, I used to wake up at five and see if there is fog. I remember once I jumped out of the bed and drove to Qutab Minar. They let me go inside without a ticket because there was no one to give tickets at that time. The fog was so dense, that during first few shots I could not see the monument.”

Firoz used to paint earlier and that has also affected his photography.

“I call it fine art photography. There is an element of mystery and surprise to it,” he says. Being in a job definitely has its constraints in terms of time, but it has also kept Firoz free, artistically. He explains, “Fashion and food photography bring in money but then, streets become a distant space.” He will be shooting Chandani Chowk next.