Ladakh comes to Kolkata in photographs

Ladakh's picturesque snowy mountains, topped with clear blue skies are now within the reach of Kolkata's photography enthusiasts.

Unleashing the magic of the region called the "roof the world", self-taught photographer Surajit Hari has captured the essence of the spectacular but sparsely populated and barren region of Jammu and Kashmir in photographs, and mounted an exhibition. Titled "Ladakh", the show began here Tuesday.

Through a repertoire of 93 pictures, some of them with labels like "Snowy Peek", "Aqua Stillness" and "Tantalising Beads", Hari has showcased the breathtaking magnificence of varied landforms from snow-capped mountains to glassy lakes.

Hari, who loves to capture clouds with his lens, visits Ladakh annually and brings out a multitude of tones and textures from one of the remote corners of the earth, the "difficult and challenging journey with extremities of weather conditions" notwithstanding.

"I visit Ladakh every year. I first travelled there in 2005 and took photographs. But the photographs did not come out so great. Then I took it as a challenge and so 'Ladakh' happened," Hari told IANS.

The exhibition is on at Birla Academy of Art and Culture till June 9.