With great ease: The photography of T.S. Satyan
On occasion of T.S. Satyan’s birth centenary, MAP explores how his work goes beyond traditional photojournalism.
Gomateswara (1976) by T S SatyanMuseum of Art & Photography
T.S. Satyan (1923-2009)
One of India’s earliest photojournalists, Satyan believed the lens to be an unbiased recorder. Born in Mysore, Satyan took his first photograph in high school and went on to document key moments of Indian history for over 60 years.
Untitled (1970) by T S SatyanMuseum of Art & Photography
T.S. Satyan’s work was all about people, and his lens became a window into the lives of ordinary people.
He photographed powerful politicians without pomp, soldiers at leisure, women in the workforce, and young children in sincere contemplation; admiring their friendships.
Women Cleaning Mounds of Rice for Mass Feeding, Siddaganga Math (1969) by T S SatyanMuseum of Art & Photography
Sugata Srinivasaraju suggests that Satyan had an “amiable casualness of early youth, the creative restlessness of a teenager and the boundless energy of a child.” This describes how he moved with ease, sometimes even unbothered by the conditions of the moment.
School for the Blind (1978) by T S SatyanMuseum of Art & Photography
Satyan's photographic style was marked by an effortless fluidity. His images were not meticulously planned or overly staged; they unfolded naturally, reflecting the freedom and curiosity that defined him as a photographer.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (1978) by T S SatyanMuseum of Art & Photography
As part of an assignment, Satyan took this photograph in 1978 at AIIMS Delhi. That year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Govt. of India launched an immunisation programme for newborns and pregnant women called the Expanded Programme on Immunization.
In his typewritten notes and scribbles on the reverse of the photographs, we find glimpses of a personal archive. These annotations offer us a peek into how the photographer documented and preserved his visual narratives, or even how he took notes for the editors of newspapers.
Satyan cared very deeply about the images that he took; the tenderness in his documentation and the joy of photographing people invites us to explore the world of the second half of the twentieth century.
Flash Floods, Delhi (1970) by T S SatyanMuseum of Art & Photography
"For fifty years, I roamed across all India and neighbouring lands with my eyes and heart open. And wherever I went people showered me with their kindness , appreciation and hospitality. They have been my very best supporters and also critics. They have been my inspiration."
MAP is grateful to the T.S. Satyan Family Trust for gifting its archive. Images of the photographs have been cropped for navigational purposes.
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