Photography exhibition on India held in Egypt

A photo exhibition about India showcasing pictures captured by an Egyptian photographer has been held in Egypt as part of the mega annual cultural festival 'India by the Nile'.

The exhibition titled 'Indian Images: People and Places" was inaugurated by India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya at el-Sawy Cultural Center in Zamalek here yesterday.

The exhibition showcased 60 photographs taken from different parts of India by Egyptian photographer Khaled Gawdat.

"The basic theme of the exhibition was to depict people, expressions and different places, particularly Kerala. But we also have some pictures of Taj Mahal which he (the artist) finds as the most significant building that the man has created, Bhattacharyya said.

The photographs depicts every day life in India, landscapes, tourist places, cultural performances, people's faces and colourful costumes.

The Ambassador said that the exhibition continued the initiative started years ago by hosting photographers to show their works during the India by the Nile festival.

"Two years ago we had and exhibition by Haran Kumar who was a street child - was found in the street and adapted then he became a very accomplished photographer.

"Last year we were very lucky to have an exhibition by Ashraf Talaat, who is a very highly recognised photographer. And this year we have Dr Khaled Gawdat and I think the same story continues. India is the land of so many different stories. I hope this inspires many more Egyptians to go to India and find their own story, he said.

Originally a professor of surgery at Ain sham University, Gawdat has great passion for photography and takes around 100,000 pictures per year.

"I've visited India three times and it is a heaven for photographers with its people, colours, landscapes, tea farms, lakes and cultural heritage, Gawdat told PTI.

"When I visit India, I feel that I'm in my homeland. Egyptians and Indians have great similarities even the colour of our skin is similar, said Gawdat, whose last travel to India was in 2017.

Egyptian actress Samira Abdel Aziz, who also inaugurated the exhibition, said she had great love for India".

About ten years ago I performed a play in India and I dealt with people there. I felt how there are great similarities between us as people," she said.