I often get asked, Why Weddings? Let me try and address that today-
From the very beginning I have craved the sense of togetherness and belonging that are intertwined within familial bliss. I reckon it's because I didn't too much of this “Family Life” growing up, but that's a story for another day.
Too often, routine permits us to take for granted the ones we share our lives with. Marking the more important events of our lives with ceremonies is an anthropological need, it is what ties us with the fabric of humanity.
It is usually easier for people to express their love at milestone events, such as weddings. They serve as an outlet for emotions that would otherwise remain unexpressed.
It is in these moments you understand the unsaid, unconditional love of your otherwise hug-dodging Chachu.
The spectrum of tradition and ceremonies pan across the country, whether it is a ‘Choorha’ ceremony of a Punjabi wedding or the ‘Haldi’ Ceremony of a Jain one. Rituals and traditions are tokens that give us a quantifiable and tangible sense of togetherness
Moments like these are fleeting, where our memories fade, photographs bridge the gaps. Photography, to me, is the art of capturing the most essential moments of life, the moments that you would otherwise keep in your memory.
Photos are permanent, so I capture snippets of life that remind you of how you felt, versus how you looked. I am less interested in the crispness of your sherwani or the can-can in your lehnga, you glow on your big day without even realizing it.
As our means of communication become more visual, it is imperative that we create images of substance. These images ought to be timeless and should have the ability to take you back to that very moment even after decades.
When I photograph, I am not a voyeur peeping from the outside in, I am a well wisher telling the story of your love from the inside out.
I hope to show you the subtle exchanges of your feels.
Not everyone will notice the goose bumps on your skin when you see your bride as your wife for the first time or the tear you father wiped away when you were not looking.
When I am at a wedding and I witness the Vidai of the bride, I am moved by the sameness of emotions that occurs when it’s time for the father’s little girl to begin a new chapter .
There are many many iterations of the same ritual, every family plays it out differently, but it takes moments like these to put life into perspective. At the end of the day, rights of passages like these are the common thread of the human experience. It is these threads that draw me most.
I’m an emotional guy you see, particularly in awe of shaadis. I’m on a constant look out to see the finer displays of emotions.
The subtle gesture of romance between the to be wed couple, the bittersweet tears of the sister of the bride when she walks away, the hopeful eyes of the mother–in-law when she gains a daughter.
The idea is not to document every moment of your big day, the idea is to preserve the most important ones. The most important ones are ones that you cannot see only feel, the most precious images are the ones that project that feeling.
