Eklavya Prasad’s Visual Katha:
Today, I visited Eklavya Prasad’s Visual Katha on Portraits of Persistence, and Enduring Communities of North Bihar, a photo exhibition in the Art Gallery of India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi. The photos in the exhibition strive to capture the plights of the flood-affected people of the villages of North Bihar.
Kosi River, known as the “sorrow of Bihar”, and its tributaries bring devastating floods yearly in more than seven districts of the northern part of the state. In every flood episode, many people in this area lose their lives, homes, and property. Thousands of the residents migrated to other parts of the country, especially to cities like Delhi and Mumbai, to keep themselves alive. Life is full of struggles even after a flood is over. Amid the government’s ignorance and bureaucratic hostility, these people must rearrange their belongings and surroundings to restart another journey of struggle and hardship.
The exhibition portrayed the struggle and hardships of these people during and after the flood. The moving portrayal of life makes heart-wrenching stories. However, still they manage to innovate their lives in this geagraphy of violent water, limited-governance, and migration.
The curator, Mr Eklavya Prasad, photographed these images of floods and flood victims with a passion for making photographed th their stories heard by the people. He has a lot of experience working in this area as a social development professional and an activist. He contributes to providing water through rainwater harvesting and sanitation, working for an organisation named Megh Pyne Abhiyan.
Glimpses of the Exhibition of Photographs by Eklavya Prasad:
