ತ ಸ satyan ಶೋ

It was T S Satyan's 85th birthday on Friday, when his photo exhibition Long Exposure opened at Tasveer.

Satyan is one of Mysore's most famous names. R K Narayan created the fictional world of Malgudi from what he saw in Mysore; Satyan similarly draws inspiration from the leisurely and intellectually curious ethos of that city.

N R Narayana Murthy, Mysorean of a later generation, had a different vision of the world. His new worldview gave birth to Infosys, India's most celebrated information technology company.

The action in what was called Old Mysore (eight districts ruled by the Mysore kings) has shifted from Mysore to Bangalore, but Satyan's camera eye refuses to set its gaze on this breathless city.

His pictures of Nehru, such as the much reproduced one he took at Parliament House (and among the exhibits at Tasveer), catch people in moments of pensiveness and tranquillity. Not a single picture is interested in the frenzy of our new world. As an artist, Satyan is undoubtedly Old Mysorean; call him the R K Narayan of photography.

At Tasveer, you will see the Hindustani vocalist Gangubai Hangal smilingly sipping tea, three generations of women brooding on the stone verandah of their rural Karnataka home, a Kodava bridegroom surrounded by clansmen in traditional attire... Satyan's empathy for his subjects is evident, but some inoffensive humour does come through at times. You can detect a gently ironic eye, for example, in the image of a woman bathing in water gushing out of a spout shaped like a lion's head.

Satyan's pictures are all in black and white, and delight with their quiet beauty.