Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 21 Aug: World Photography Day on 19 August was celebrated at the English Book Depot conference room with the viewing of a rare 35 mm analog slide show. The slides, presented by Pranav Kukreti, adventure travel and experiential learning expert, were rare for several reasons: most of them were more than 50 years old, portrayed the overwhelming beauty of the Himalayas and the simplicity of the lives of people living in the hills, and the grandeur of the Kumbh Mela in 1986, Haridwar.
The very special part, however, was that these slides were from photographs taken by Swami Sundaranand, a legendary photographer and storyteller, who lived in Gangotri until he died in 2020. His deep connection with nature and devotion to the flora and fauna of the region is depicted in his photographs for posterity.
The event gave the audience an opportunity to witness photographic history that is untouched and unfiltered, and excited both photography enthusiasts and novices.
The programme was introduced by Anjali Bharthari, INTACH Chapter In-charge, Uttarakhand State. Writer-editor Prerna Raturi spoke about Swami Sundaranand and mentioned personal anecdotes of visiting his hut in Gangotri. Former bureaucrat Vibha Puri Das reminisced about her times with Swami Sundaranand and, also, shared her personal collection of his photographs with the group. Architect Akshay Veer Joshi also spoke about his time spent with the ascetic-photographer in Gangotri, where he curated his photographs in the art gallery there.
Also present were INTACH Convener Bharti P Jain, Convenor, Dehradun, Apoorva Gaur, Co-convenor, Dehradun Chapter, and Surbhi Agarwal, Co-convenor, Mussoorie Chapter.
Swami Sundaranand, born in 1926 in Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh, was not only a devoted disciple of Swami Tapovanam Maharaj, but also a spiritual master and an intrepid explorer of the Himalayas. His first journey to Gaumukh nearly seven decades ago marked the beginning of a lifelong quest for spiritual truth and visual storytelling. Through countless treks across the vast and often unforgiving Himalayan terrain, he documented a world now largely lost to time—with images that remain both timeless and transcendent.
