Before I talk about my new project on Mughal Delhi
I have just inaugurated my new project on Mughal Delhi. Before discussing this latest endeavor, I’d like to give readers a brief background.
After we passed through the worst of the pandemic, I intended to start a photo project focused on the lives of people after the disaster of COVID-19. I wanted to showcase the general populace’s struggles to get their lives back on track. It is not a secret that many people suffered significant economic hardship during and after the pandemic. My mood was grim, and when I walked the streets, I realized I was projecting my emotions onto the surrounding people. In contrast with my mood, I saw people around me smiling as they picked their lives from the gutter and set about rebuilding their livelihoods. The optimistic mood was contagious, and I rediscovered my ability to pick up conversations with people and focus on the positive.
I abandoned the project and wandered the corridors of my mind, wondering what to focus on next. I did a street photography project on the Walled City of Delhi almost ten years ago. After tramping the streets for a year, I started a book but abandoned it halfway.
Then, a year back, I thought of repeating the project but rejected the idea. For me, context is essential, even if the context seems forced.
The Trigger
Then, when I read a book called “Daughters of The Sun,” by Ira Mukhoty, I thought about what I could do. At this time, my subconscious mind conceptualized a new project for Mughal Delhi. The discovery of six generations of amazing Mughal women came as a shock. I had heard of Nur Jahan (Jahangir’s favorite wife) and Jahanara (beloved of Shah Jahan, her father, and Aurangzeb, her brother), but I did not realize how talented these women were.
My new project on Mughal Delhi
I abandoned my initial plan to focus only on the streets of the Walled City of Delhi. When I began conceptualizing my new project on Mughal Delhi, I decided I’d include photos of the major monuments and images of the streets. Apart from pictures of Red Fort, Jama Masjid, etc., I will start from the beginning: Purana Kila, which Humayun made his capital after he regained his empire from the Sur Dynasty.
My new project on Mughal Delhi will force me to research the major and minor monuments of the city. I will include some images of British India: the Mughal Empire’s implosion after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707 CE was long. The implosion began in 1707 CE, with Aurangzeb’s death, and continued until 1858 CE, when the Great Uprising ended, and the British exiled the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, to Burma.
I assume the project will take me the better part of the next two years, at which point I will publish a book. I will make blog posts and YouTube videos and maybe start a podcast during this journey. Of course, my new project will demand research work.
Life is good!
Let The Ship Sail
The ship has sailed, and I don’t know how the winds will change its path. I don’t know how the project’s contours will shape themselves and how it will shape itself in the end. Sometimes, we must go with the flow.
The ship has sailed, and I intend to enjoy the journey.
