Daughters of India: Art and Identity

A tribute to women

Author-photographer Stephen P. Huyler talks about the journey of “Daughters of India: Art and Identity”

Capturing the pulse A still from the book

Author-photographer Stephen P. Huyler says he never clicks a picture without permission. Yet his “Daughters of India: Art and Identity” published by Mapin narrows into hidden rural crevices and urban scenes to capture women, known and unk nown, at their candid best. The book, a journey through 262 colour photographs, travels through villages and cities, and narrates the stories of 20 women from different backgrounds. Indra peeps out of her veil for a few seconds, while Achamma overcomes her reticence and joins the others to be the chief players in the book.

While Huyler knits together disparate tales and battles, he allows creative expression to be the thread that binds the women. So the tales of Savitri from Dhunlo, Orissa, Padma from Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Sonabai of Puhputra in Chhatisgrah come alive along with vibrant pictures.

Huyler’s intention was to let the world know “the pulse of the Indian woman” and quell misconceptions. He writes in his introduction: “Much of Western reportage about Indian women is misinformed and misguided, depicting all or most of them as victims.”

Despite the problems Indian women face, Huyler says: “They display phenomenal inner strength and resilience. My respect for them has grown as the deeper levels I see of their difficulties.” In the West, Indian women are identified with the injustices they face, says the author-photographer who was in New Delhi recently for the book launch. His introduction touches upon dowry harassment, female infanticide and treatment of widows.

Strength of women

Quiz him on the battles women have to wage despite geographical locations, and Huyler responds: “The cultural characteristic of India is kind of unique. In the Western cultures, women are subjugated in the belief that they are weaker. In India, it is the fear in men, of the strength of women. Yet women make these little cracks on the pavement to let the flower bloom.” Huyler, also the author of “Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion,” draws on the references to Shakti in Indian mythology.

Huyler took about eight years to ready the book. However, his link with India goes back 37 years. “Initially, it was just wanderlust and my deep fascination with people and art,” Huyler recalls. “My mentor, Beatrice Wood, told me that in India I might find a group of cultures in a relatively small land mass that would feed my interest and would be worthwhile to document,” says Huyler. A Bachelor of Arts in Indian Studies from the University of Denver followed, and he plunged headlong to India, where Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya and Rukmini Devi Arundale nurtured him.

“Strong Indian women have guided me,” he says. Though he admits it is impossible to be objective and forget the cultural baggage he carries, Huyler says: “For 37 years, I have worked and travelled in India possibly more than any American or Westerner has.” When he steps into the homes of rural communities, he brings with him the “rare ability to just be”. “It doesn’t make me less American, but gives me a breath of experience from where I can draw,” says Huyler.

According to him, it is his ability to “absorb” and be a mere “witness” that helps his subjects shed inhibitions even when he is interviewing and clicking pictures in the remotest corners of India. “I let them emerge,” he says. “I only go where doors are open,” he adds.

The challenges

“Daughters of India” threw challenges to Huyler, but he never compromised on his principles. “It was difficult to reach to Achamma Joseph in Kochi who is heralded as the poster girl of IT. She was very cautious and afraid of industrial espionage. But once she was assured of my trustworthiness, that door opened.”

The book also gave Huyler many poignant moments. “Pushpa from the slums of Mumbai, Larku the child bride, Kusima who deals with abject prejudice, Bimla, the Dalit woman from Varanasi…,” Huyler reels off.

P. ANIMA