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'Bhopal gas tragedy cannot be forgotten simply because it happened to the poor'

Last updated on: December 8, 2009 12:31 IST

Image: Samar Jodha has done extensive research on the Bhopal gas tragedy including photography. He was first commissioned by the BBC to shoot pictures on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy and has travelled to Bhopal extensively after that

Photographer Samar Jodha is perhaps one of those rare persons who is all praise for the Indian media. He suggests that one of the reasons the Bhopal gas tragedy went by unnoticed was because there was little or no media at that time (December 1984).

Jodha, who worked on a BBC project during the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, will display a multimedia installation of some of the images from the Union Carbide plant, in Mumbai on December 13.

In an interview with Abhishek Mande, Samar Jodha speaks of his various trips to the plant and why some stories should never be forgotten

What made you want to document the Bhopal gas tragedy on camera?

Five years ago, I had shot some portraits of people affected by the gas leak for a print campaign for the BBC. I intended to take this forward and started visiting Bhopal more often.

In many third world countries, governments don't go chasing the wrongdoings of big companies in the fear that it would affect the foreign direct investment. I feel the same happened with India. The Bhopal gas tragedy also didn't affect a lot of people across the world. So in due course of time it simply got buried in newspaper reports.

For the last 15 years my work has been related to conflict issues -- conflict between modernity and the traditional ways of living. The Bhopal gas tragedy was one such instance and should not be forgotten simply because it didn't happen in an urban jungle and the people affected were from low-income groups.

Could you tell us something about your installation?

It is a mix of films, soundscapes, interviews, recording and photographs. So the images you are seeing are 3D imagery of the space itself. I wanted to create this whole experience and not a conventional photo exhibition. The images are backlit and give you a 3D feel as they almost leap at you.

I have stuck to exhibiting just two such pieces -- one of the control room and the other of a place where a lot of chemicals that still sit in the open. These images cannot really be printed, they need to be experienced.

How long have you been working on this project?

For about five years now. This project, like most of my work, was self-funded and self-commissioned. After visiting it for the BBC assignment (2004) I have been travelling to Bhopal on and off. After the first few times, I lost count of the number of times I visited the city.

'I didn't want to exhibit portraits of people who were suffering'

Image: This series of two images speaks about the emptiness and the eerie silence that permeates the space
Photographs: Samar Jodha

How did you put it all together considering it was self-funded?

Well, to begin with this is not really about photography as much as it is about creating awareness. Since it was the 25th anniversary of the tragedy I wanted to create a body of work but, more importantly, provide a platform for discussion. Unfortunately no one was interested in displaying the installation till Geetu Hinduja, who runs a gallery in Mumbai, stepped in. So now there are two NGOs, a survivor and environmentalist Bittu Sahgal who will head a panel discussion in Mumbai.

How are the people there coping with the tragedy?

Well, it is everyday survival and struggle. It is also to do with the Indian mindset -- we believe that it is meant for us and we have to live with it. You might get angry, upset and protest outside the offices of the authorities. But the bottomline is that it is in nobody's control. No one can do anything about it -- the local authorities, the government, the people -- unless something happens from the top.

I believe you have relatives in Bhopal including an uncle who worked at the Union Carbide plant. Could you tell us something about him?

Yes, I do. In fact I have another uncle who used to be a doctor in Bhopal. But I must confess I haven't spoken much to them. My interaction has been largely with the people in the bastis, people who were directly affected by the gas leak. There is a lot of information to go back to but my take was more on the personal stories.

What was the one story that stayed with you even after you'd left Bhopal?

There are lots of stories. But it's the suffering that stayed on. There was this guy who was a semi-skilled labourer and was in the operating room that night. You cannot imagine what goes through his head -- he lives there and feels responsible for what has happened -- even though there was little or nothing he could do. Stories such as this one or the one of a man in his late 30s who looks like he's just 12 years old and with multiple health issues are heart-wrenching. I have worked with and photographed these people. It could have been simple to walk through any camp or locality and shoot pictures of the people who were affected. I felt that human dignity should be maintained so I consciously decided to stay away from showing their pictures because that really wasn't something I wanted to exhibit.

Why are you opening your show 10 days after the 25th anniversary?

Unfortunately, the gallery I had first approached refused to showcase the installation at the Nth moment. It was September by then and I was at sea. That's when Geetu Hinduja stepped in and got me another gallery. But then I could not get the dates I wanted and had to settle for December 13.

'To bring things to larger public domain you need something as interactive as art'

Image: Jodha says abandoned chemicals are further polluting the environment

Do you believe that despite the fact that we have access to so much information and the presence of mass media we are slowly but surely forgetting tragedies -- Bhopal and others -- except on anniversaries?

Yes. But I guess it has to do with the fact that we are now leading faster lives, lives that are ruled by materialistic concerns. America has access to almost every possible media. Yet you see how ignorant American people can be. The world as we knew it is always changing. These changes are affecting us too.

What is your take on the government's idea of making a Hiroshima-like memorial for the ones who died?

I think it's just rubbish. It becomes just another platform for politicians to come and make speeches and throw flowers.

How do you manage to balance your corporate commitments with your social activism?

I wish I could do just one part and give up the other one. But I run a personal CSR programme, which involves me spending 70 per cent of my time with issues that are close to my heard -- the Bhopal tragedy or issues related to tribals from the North-East. Fortunately I have a team that takes care of work back at office.

In an interview you've said that art for you exists in social change. How do you see your art making a difference?

Having had an economist for a father who worked on climate issues much before they became a growing concern, I feel that to bring things to the larger public domain you need something as interactive as television, art and photography. For me photography is a tool that brings issues to larger platforms. I believe that art must go beyond art's sake and take up social responsibilities. You don't need to go miles away to some distant land and work there, you can pick a cause outside your door. Do! That is the bottom line.