Like all talented men Shahidul Alam had an impressive CV. My more knowledgeable colleagues confirmed that he was a genius and spoke brilliantly. So when I got this invitation to attend his lecture at a city club I grabbed it. The lecture got delayed due to technical problems because of non compatible hardwares. The crowd was too busy eating and drinking and did not appear to mind the delay. I noticed one Pakistani gentleman with an injured foot wearing one shoe on the good foot and one sandal on the injured foot. The dress code was formal so he was doing his bit. I thought he looked silly.
Mr Alam was a hyper active small man in his mid fifties. A brilliant student, he could have been a scientist but chose photography as his profession .His passion for photography was intense and as he addressed the large crowd he radiated intensity. The presentation was impressive and so was the speaker’s English. Originally from Bangladesh Mr Alam was now almost like a global citizen jet setting across the globe as an acclaimed expert in his field. He took us through a pictorial journey about various aspects of the common man’s life in Bangladesh. There was huge amount of West bashing throughout his speech. Since the audience had a sizeable no. of European attendees I wondered how they felt about it. The title of Alam’s lecture was “When the lions find their storytellers…….” based on the African proverb “Until the lion has his own storyteller, the hunter will always have the best side of the story.”
Here was a highly creative man educated in the West, hobnobbing with top institutions in the West, proudly displaying honours conferred on him by western institutions- yet so acutely conscious of his third world identity .He hates the word third world and prefers the term majority world. He is highly vocal about the manner in which his country and Islam is depicted by Western photographers and media. The irony is that he owes his current global stature to the West. Mr Alam showed us a beautiful photograph of a man kneeling on the river bank saying his afternoon prayers .This was a different portrayal from the stereotyped western portrayal of a bearded Muslim guy, who was a terrorist , had four wives and who beat them up regularly.
Mr Alam was acutely concerned about the various misrepresentations and thereby miscommunications in everyday life. The mobile phone with its inbuilt camera was a great leveller according to Alam. It had given power to the common man to capture and share their own stories. He had taken travelling exhibitions which told powerful stories in a highly politically and socially repressed society right amongst the working classes and villages. We saw beautiful pictures of decorated travelling rickshaw / boat galleries carrying these exhibitions across the country.
Alam feels it is time lions tell their own story. In a digital world it is easier to do so .But the grotesque will always coexist with the beautiful.
Mr Alam was a hyper active small man in his mid fifties. A brilliant student, he could have been a scientist but chose photography as his profession .His passion for photography was intense and as he addressed the large crowd he radiated intensity. The presentation was impressive and so was the speaker’s English. Originally from Bangladesh Mr Alam was now almost like a global citizen jet setting across the globe as an acclaimed expert in his field. He took us through a pictorial journey about various aspects of the common man’s life in Bangladesh. There was huge amount of West bashing throughout his speech. Since the audience had a sizeable no. of European attendees I wondered how they felt about it. The title of Alam’s lecture was “When the lions find their storytellers…….” based on the African proverb “Until the lion has his own storyteller, the hunter will always have the best side of the story.”
Here was a highly creative man educated in the West, hobnobbing with top institutions in the West, proudly displaying honours conferred on him by western institutions- yet so acutely conscious of his third world identity .He hates the word third world and prefers the term majority world. He is highly vocal about the manner in which his country and Islam is depicted by Western photographers and media. The irony is that he owes his current global stature to the West. Mr Alam showed us a beautiful photograph of a man kneeling on the river bank saying his afternoon prayers .This was a different portrayal from the stereotyped western portrayal of a bearded Muslim guy, who was a terrorist , had four wives and who beat them up regularly.
Mr Alam was acutely concerned about the various misrepresentations and thereby miscommunications in everyday life. The mobile phone with its inbuilt camera was a great leveller according to Alam. It had given power to the common man to capture and share their own stories. He had taken travelling exhibitions which told powerful stories in a highly politically and socially repressed society right amongst the working classes and villages. We saw beautiful pictures of decorated travelling rickshaw / boat galleries carrying these exhibitions across the country.
Alam feels it is time lions tell their own story. In a digital world it is easier to do so .But the grotesque will always coexist with the beautiful.
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