Exhibitions
Photographing India: Journeys with Raja Lala Deen Dayal
An exhibition of photographs from the collection of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
On view: Lecture Room, IIC Annexe
Raja Lala Deen Dayal
Raja Lala Deen Dayal, pioneer Indian 19th century photographer (1844-1905) has left for us an exquisite photographic record of British India, of a bygone Colonial era influenced by Native Princely India. At the end of the 18th century, the old tradition of Mughal miniature painting was giving way to new forms more acceptable to European taste, as the British took over the East in fee. Lala Deen Dayal replaced the painter as a functionary of a prince’s court at precisely that moment when fashion and philosophy began to dictate that aristocratic and upper class Indians should acquire the status symbols of socially progressive Victorians.
But it was not only in his portraitures and "sovereign scenarios" that Lala Deen Dayal excelled. His lens captured the culture and tradition of India's rich architectural heritage, temples, monuments, forts, views, and memorials. His extensive series of Indian views forms a timeless travelogue of the country. A unique repertoire of the excellence of Black and White photography, with early techniques, processes and equipment which produced living images and left its impact on the history of art and printing.
Born in 1844 at Sardana in Meerut to a family of jewelers, Lala Deen Dayal an engineer, held the prestigious appointment of Head – estimator and Draughtsman with the Public Works Department, Indore. It was here that he was introduced to photography. By the time he was 30, his familiarity and brilliance with the medium attracted enough attention to grant him the patronage so essential to all artists. His first patron was Maharaja Tukoji Rao II of Indore, who introduced him to Sir Henry Daly, the British Agent at Indore. He then had the opportunity to photograph the visit of the Prince of Wales and his entourage, in 1875. This was followed by his appointment to Lord Dufferin’s office as “Photographer to Excellency, the Viceroy”.
Encouraged by the growing appreciation and consequent demand for his photographs he decided to trade a lucrative career in Government service to photograph the countryside. His albums of India views and ancient monuments became very popular and were bought as memorablia and gifts by the British and Indian Royalty. During his sojourn through Hyderabad he photographed the Nizam at a parade. Astute and ambitious, he presented the photographs to the Nizam who promptly appointed him as “Court Photographer” and remained in the Nizam’s service from 1885 to his death. In appreciation of his work and dedication, the Nizam bestowed on him the honorific title of “Raja” and composed a couplet in Urdu in his name.
Towards the turn of the century, Raja Deen Dayal was acclaimed as one of the leading exponents of photography in India. Queen Victoria honoured him with a Royal Warrant, and his exhibits were acclaimed at international exhibitions. He set up flourishing studios in Secunderabad and Indore, a zenana studio for women in Hyderabad as well as owned the largest workshop-studio in Bombay.
Raja Deen Dayal died in 1905, bequeathing to history an intimate glimpse into the lives of princes, and the British, ordinary folk and tribals, as well as vistas of archaeological sites, monuments and the architectural heritage of the country.