Building blocks with pictures

Phaneng, a small village in Assam, and its preservation has been photographer Samar Jodha's focus.

It isn’t hard to guess why veteran photographer Samar Jodha decided to make the tiny village of Phaneng in lower Assam the focus of all his energy over the last few years. It might be small in size — a few scattered bamboo houses on stilts and farmland — but its inhabitants are probably the finest example of the myriad cultures and identities that thrive in the north-eastern corner of India.

Connected to the outside world only by a rickety bamboo bridge, which is washed away every monsoon, the Tai Phake tribals who live in Phaneng have witnessed a lot, including glimpses of the World War II. The village has stood silent and its stilted bamboo architecture has changed little, retaining its identity and largely isolated from even basic necessities such as electricity. No wonder then that Jodha found Tai Phake, in common with similar indigenous people around the world, gaping to find development suddenly catching up with them.

“I stumbled upon the village in the winter of 2004, while driving along the historic Stilwell road from Southwest China into India’s cloistered north-east, for a documentary project,” recalls Jodha.

Primarily specialising in fashion and automobile photography, Jodha often takes on projects that deal with human issues. The project “Ageless Mind and Spirit” he says, influenced him a lot as he spent eight years simply documenting the faces and stories of India’s elderly people.

At Phaneng, along with his American-German partner, Carin Fischer, he formed “Partnership for responsible development” to facilitate a sustainable tourism project at Phaneng. “We have built facilities to accommodate paying tourists and resources have been poured into reviving the monastery for Tai Phake tribals who practice Buddhism.

The village is tiny: a cluster of 27-odd homes, members of which are now part of the tourism project. “Breaking away from the feudal division of labour we are requesting them to participate in various duties; from clerical work to even doing dishes,” says Jodha.

The implementation of the project included a photo-documentary of the Tai Phake and now Jodha is set to exhibit a selection from it. Titled Phaneng, it is a series of 12 black-and-white portraits of the village inhabitants, from the youngest to the eldest. “They are not just portraits but very strong portraiture,” Jodha explains. The photographs are shot in a very stark style with faces exposed to very intricate details against a black backdrop. Jodha says he could have used a lot more, including colour from Phaneng, but he wanted to keep it from becoming “exotica/poverty display”.

The exhibition, beginning on November 10, 2008, at Religare Arts Initiative’s Gallery in New Delhi, will package audio, visual and culinary experience to bring together glimpses of Phaneng. Jodha says he was especially struck by the “insect sounds” in the night and wanted them to be the background noise for his photos. Two people from the village will be working with the gallery’s cafeteria staff to serve exotic vegetarian delights with two different dishes that will be served on different days. A two-minute film will also be on loop to enable visitors to get a virtual tour of the village.

“I have spent a large part of the past four years living and working with members of this tribe,” he says, regretting that the tribe with a population of a mere 1,500 is on the verge of extinction. “Ironically,” he adds, “They also live in close proximity to modern coal mining projects that are slowly swallowing their forests and their way of living.”