BENGALURU: Capturing the sights and sounds of the city has always been Shivaraju B S, aka Cop Shiva’s, forte. Even as he decided to relocate to his village, Ramanagara, in 2018, Shiva recalls Bengaluru as the place where he once donned the khaki uniform of a policeman. Shiva’s works will now be on display at a photography exhibition, Indian Storytellers – Passion and Persistence – being held at Under the Mango Tree art gallery and design studio in Berlin, Germany. The show, curated by Mini Kapur, will be on display till Jan. 17, 2021.
Shiva is the only artist from South India to participate and is showcasing 10 works from two series, ‘The Street Has Studio’ and ‘Urban Ecstasy’. The other photographers include Manoj Jain, Ranbir Kaleka, Dinesh Khanna and Amit Pasricha.
“As a police constable and migrant who worked on the streets, I connect with working-class migrants in the city. They don’t have much of an education, but have dreams of finding a better life. They struggle for survival, doing different jobs... as street vendors, folk dancers, sex workers, singers, dancers, domestic help. I want to capture these real-life moments,” he says.
As someone who moved from a quiet town to a bustling city, Shiva saw the city through a fresh lens. “While I walked through streets in Bengaluru, I came across so many new aspects. For one, the number of festivals that are celebrated in different towns, besides the oft-told tale of the Bangalore Karaga. There’s an onion festival or even the Shivaratri celebrations at a crematorium in Cooke Town.
I went there three years in a row, between 2013 and 2015 to soak in the night-long celebrations. There is so much history to a place. I like colour, which lends to the storytelling,” he says, adding that he has documented at least 36 festivals, each unique in their own way to the city. This continues to be an on-going project.
Looking at the street as a studio, Shiva takes real-life character photos capturing them in their natural element and style – with animals, against heritage monuments, or even spectacular landscapes. Passionate about the Indian studio photography tradition, which is fading in India, Shiva hopes he’s given the concept a twist. “Each person has a different story, and it’s fascinating to hear each of these stories. I listen to their stories and try to take pictures that catch them in their natural pose and poise,” he says.
Shiva has been lucky to have not been drastically affected by the pandemic, owing to his pension and farming activities. But he does rue that fellowships and exhibitions, which were an integral part of his daily life, have now come to a standstill. “From friends in the fraternity, I understand that it is quite a hard time to survive as a photographer,” he says.