By the Hooghly, a photo from West Bengal, East

Photographer's Note

A sunny afternoon by the Hooghly river in central Calcutta in November 1987. People are doing their laundry, bathing or just relaxing on the steps. In the background is the Howrah Bridge, one of the most famous landmarks of Calcutta and featured in many films from the city. Across the river, to the left outside the photo, is Howrah Station, the largest railway station in India.

This is a scan from a Kodachrome slide. The colours weren't totally bad, but they weren't totally good either, and since in this case the composition as such seemed more important than the colours, I decided to convert it to B&W.

Howrah Bridge was opened in 1943 when it replaced an old pontoon bridge from the late 19th century.

Crossing the bridge is a fascinating experience, no matter how much time you have spent in other parts of India. Among the overloaded trucks, buses, cars, rickshaws and bicycles there will be men carrying incredibly large and bulky loads on their backs, holy men covered in ashes, children begging, women selling flowers.

It's an exciting place to take photos, but it's not really legal...

In fact it was very illegal in 1972, one year after India's latest war with Pakistan which led to the independence of Bangladesh. I saw a large sign saying "Photography strictly prohibited", as I entered the bridge. I thought: "Oh, well, who cares?" and started to take photos.

I was arrested within a few minutes and brought to the nearest police station, but the super intendent was so impressed when he found out I was a university graduate, that he let me go and wished me a nice stay in India. I was no longer suspected of being a spy for Pakistan.

In 2018 there were proposals to lift the photo restrictions, but I don't know what happened.

In the WS is a colour photo from the same place but from another angle with a better light. There is also a river view from another part of Calcutta.

True to the Indian tradition of constantly changing the names of states, cities and buildings, Howrah Bridge is since 1965 officially known as Rabindra Setu (after the Bengali poet and Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore). And Howrah, Calcutta's twin city, is also spelled Haora. Calcutta is of course since 2001 officially Kolkata. The Hooghly, a tributary to the Ganges, is also spelled Hoogli or Hugli and is sometimes known as Kati-Ganga, according to Wikipedia.

This concludes my series of photos from India in 1987. Next time I will go somewhere else.

Fis2, pajaran, ikeharel, Royaldevon, pierrefonds, clic, jean113, jhm, ChrisJ, PaulVDV, ricardomattos, worldcitizen, COSTANTINO, ktanska, adramad, lucasgalodoido, mcmtanyel, macjake, fotka has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (158215) 2021-03-02 0:34

Witaj Gert my neighbour today :)!
Another interesting set of photos.
Great truss, interesting bridge structure.
Curious scene from daily life.
Excellent photos.
Well done.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

pajaran (104923) 2021-03-02 1:06

Pozdrav.
Dobar rad sa crno belom i kolor fotografijom u radionici.
Interesdantni i lepi pogledi, dobro pokazano.
Lepe fotografije i secanje.
Zelim vam lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje.
Paja.

lousat (131433) 2021-03-02 1:13

Hi Gert,being arrested for banned photos was certainly a good experience, especially considering how it ended .. hehe .. nice story of one of the many adventures you have experienced during your travels. The photos are excellent, and the history of the bridge and the prohibitions is very interesting, I didn't know it. Two beautiful versions of the bridge, both in color and black and white, and very sharp capture of the commuter boat very very busy. Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

ikeharel (107107) 2021-03-02 1:31

Hello Gert,
Three wonderful photos from the river banks, people enliven the scene, good observation of their daily-life doing.
Amzing the WS with the old ferry arriving, attractive picture by itself.
Have a nice new day,
Ike

Royaldevon (78332) 2021-03-02 2:20

Hello Gert,

Three more interesting photographs!
I must admit, though I relatively recently saw a programme at Calcutta station, I certainly didn't see this huge, geometric bridge!
I don't think the b&w treatment loses anything much because, as you note, this photograph is very much about composition. The standing figure holds the f/g and the bridge takes us across the river.
The only thing that I noted in your w/s (in colour) was the grubby condition of the white wall, which does manifest itself here.

I loved your description of the people crossing the bridge, just the same sort of feeling that I tried to describe yesterday. If you haven't seen the the variety of different sorts of transport and of people, all vying for best positions on a road, it is almost impossible to place that in someone's mind!

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

everlasting (18764) 2021-03-02 2:27

a classic and timeless image by the Hooghly river. I have seen many images from this PoV but never with such an interesting story. Black and white works well here

Silvio1953 (208597) 2021-03-02 3:14

Ciao Gert, interesting scene in a beautiful B&W, splendid light, fine details and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pierrefonds (105561) 2021-03-02 4:44

Hi Gert,

You have captured well the action on the edge of the river. The point of view is showing the details of the Howrah bridge. The black and white is givign a good contrast to the scene. Have a nice day.

Pierre

clic (24154) 2021-03-02 8:32

Hallo Gert
Usually the secret agents used the tiny Minox Spy Camera instead of the bulky gear to go unnoticed among the crowd!!
Most were quipped by then to accept 16MM B&W negative film; nowadays you can buy Minox color 100 and 400.
Your picture in black suits well to the early era of the undercover agents who had no right to make mistakes and were trained for photo perfection, as you did in this mastered layout within the frame.
Halsningar

jean113 (23481) 2021-03-02 9:09

Hello Gert, three pictures that give us a good impression from this part of your trip to Calcutta.
Interesting what you said about the name changes, I have lost track of the newer names!
The b/w presentation is very effective for this shot and the one with the boats on the river.
Looking across to the bridge, I can see that there is an enormous amount of traffic passing over.
Interesting extra about your 'arrest' for taking photos.
Thanks for sharing, kind regards, Jean.

jhm (205223) 2021-03-02 10:17

Hello Gert,

A picture with a happy end after arrested within a few minutes, regimes are always dangerous, certainly in this type countries.
I find the bridge a very well addition.
Also the black and white are perfect photographed.
Very well done, TFS

Regards,
John.

ChrisJ (162660) 2021-03-02 11:10

Hi Gert,

The cantilever bridge in the bg reminds me of the Story Bridge in Brisbane, but you would never see anyone bathing in the river like this, only in India. Good tonal range and sharpness. Tfs!

jmdias (105119) 2021-03-02 11:35

gert

I only had troubles taking photos of a marvelous colonial british building in bombay, a policeman waved to me to stop. this is a so idiot restriction nowadays..
I liked the graphic effect of the main post with the people well positioned. I can imagine these waters should be very rich in terms of microbes..

take care

jorge

Tue (84016) 2021-03-02 11:59

Hej Gert,
Det er en meget imponerende bro, lidt som man kan også se dem i mange storbyer i Amerika. Sort og hvidt var et godt valg for at få broens mønster til at stå frem så tydeligt fra himlen. De mange mennesker langs vandkanten danner en god forgrund.
Lars

PaulVDV (56393) 2021-03-02 15:42

Hello Gert,
Oops! I actually expected a long series of photos from Calcutta.
I don't know whether the bridge is really beautiful, but I certainly find it quite special.
It's a very long bridge and with the crowds it will take some time to cross it. But your description is extremely captivating and I can imagine spending a lot of time on the bridge.
The fact that you're not allowed to take pictures doesn't make it attractive, of course.
Nowadays, one could demand that you delete all your digital photos from that location and keep the rest. In the past, punishment could consist of handing over the entire roll of film.
The persons in the foreground give more depth to the photo.
I also like the picture with the arriving commuters in the WS.
Best regards, Paul

ricardomattos (15908) 2021-03-02 16:53

Olá Gert,

Excelente B&W aqui e uma bem feita composição com aquela imponente e bonita ponte metálica. Você ainda conseguiu incluir o sósia de Gandhi à direita. Muito bom trabalho meu amigo.

Parabéns e abraço

Ricardo

worldcitizen (14562) 2021-03-02 18:22

Hello Gert,
I think B/W really suits this composition. It makes the graphism of the bridge more prominent. I like how the bridge stretches across the entire frame, and the gentleman is placed on the far right side of the photo. Very nice. :-)

ifege (35341) 2021-03-02 21:26

HI Gert
B&W often works well for iffy colour and in this case is perfect for the subject and the era. Looks like high tide.
I do like the story of your earlier visit in 1972 when I was also in India (just the Delhi/Agra areas) just after the war finished.
cheers
Ian

COSTANTINO (106055) 2021-03-02 21:54

Hello dear Gert and have a nice day
photo bringing memories
from the past presenting
people doing their laundry..
a real sample of great work
of the best photographer
regards
Costanti

GyurMaster (22206) 2021-03-03 5:23

Dear Gert,

Lucky enough he didn't make you unload your film from the camera, so we can see these photos now! Obviously, this was the best photo to serve as the main upload. As you noticed, colours are not important here.

Best Wishes,
Gy

BennyV (32746) 2021-03-03 6:13

Great bl/w from the archive. An oldie, but from before my time. At least I was already wanting to go and travel back in 1987 (even though it needed a few years more still before I'd make my first real trip)...congratulations!

Benny

ktanska (41005) 2021-03-03 10:28

Hej Gert,
Very impressive bridge across this mighty river. Structure is quite special, I haven't seen another one quite like that. And I really wonder why they didn't build a suspension bridge there. Shiny metal details look good on B&W.
Kari

adramad (68174) 2021-03-03 12:23

Hi Gertz,
An adventure to capture these photos of the bridge, according to the reading of your note.
A timeless photo which B&W does very well, it is curious to see the images of the people after so many years, the very original bridge, at this distance you cannot see the traffic it supports.
Very well managed both the brightness and the sharpness of the image.
Nice work. That we enjoy.
Have a nice day.
Very best regards.
Luis.

lucasgalodoido (27208) 2021-03-04 5:50

Hi Gert,
interesting daily life scene here, with a typical indian river. I like of your coposition with this steel bridge in the scene. Great job, my friend.
Regards,
Lucas

mcmtanyel (59400) 2021-03-06 10:08

Hello Gert,
Nice photo from the past. I wonder how clean the river is to do all that washing. I like the photo of the boat in the workshop, too. It looks like you de-saturated originally color photos, am I right?
Regards,
MT
PS. I couldn't have used the WS photo from Grand Rapids restaurant as the main entry because that was my family at the table.

macjake (96579) 2021-03-07 21:34

Hi Gert
I really enjoy the color shot in the WS, that's very good.
wow, that's a great note to accompany the photo, Gert being arrested hahaha...well, it worked out in your favour in the end. They would have most likely taken the film straight out of your camera and you would have lost photos from previous days too, that would have sucked. I would love to spend a good chuck of time here in favourable light and just take as many people shots as possible. sounds like a prime spot. excellent TE post
cheers
Craig

fotka (7763) 2021-03-08 6:19

Hello Gert,
Great convert of the color photo to B&W. As you said the colors were not perfect but this in B&W medium looks very nice. A wonderful combination daily life with an amazing bridge construction.
Perfect quality as B&W photo.
Best regards,
Zbigniew

kasianowak (16148) 2021-03-19 16:21

This, I think, is actually really good in b&w, if just for the graphic shape of the bridge. Much as I like the colour image in WS too.
And what a story! A Pakistani spy from Sweden. Well done on getting away with it! :-)
What put me off travelling to India after my first brief stay in 2012 was all the restrictions. You can't bring satellite phones into the country, your food will get confiscated at the entrance to the Taj Mahal, not permitted to fly drones, not allowed this or that. I have a photo of the list of things not allowed when you visit Agra Fort. Normally, I prefer less regulated countries. But this is India, an amazing place to visit for every other reason and you know how I loved it last year.
Have a nice weekend
Kasia