Iconic photographer Steve McCurry 'likes Kolkata'

Photojournalist Steve McCurry, noted for his thought-provoking pictures including the iconic 'Afghan Girl', says he undertook several train journeys across the length and breadth of India in search of the perfect photo and "liked Kolkata a lot."
"Train stations are a microcosm of life. Like people living on the platform. The stations are full of activity, they are so crowded, so lively. When I was here in 1985, most of the people travelled through trains," McCurry told PTI in an interview here.
The photographer, whose picture of an Afghan refugee girl in 1984 made it to the cover of the National Geographic magazine, has collated photos taken across the country, capturing lives of everyday people in extraordinary settings into his new book titled "India by Steve McCurry".

During his sojourns, McCurry visited cities like Mumbai and Delhi, but admits it was the city of Kolkata, which caught his eye.
"I liked Kolkata a lot, there is a whole lot of culture, art, photography, poetry, the colonial architecture. The city has a lot of characters. It has a lot of activity on the streets, it is always a wonderful surprise whenever you visit Calcutta," he said.
The prolific photographer who first came to India in 1978 pointed out that in a space of over 30 years the country had changed a lot and change was but inevitable.

"Nowadays you have cell phones, all those Ambassador cars are gone," he said, adding "Progress is unstoppable, it is inevitable, it's the way things evolve."

The illustrious photographer said that while photographing in India, McCurry observed that people "lived their lives in public."
"Children playing, people working in the street, I think it's the people living their lives in public, in most part of the world people's lives are private," he said.
McCurry's "India" explores the lives of everyday people in extraordinary settings: from the Ganesh festival on Chowpatty beach in Mumbai to the Kolkata railway station before dawn; from the flower markets of Kashmir to the streets of Old Delhi; from the mountains of Ladakh to Bollywood.
The book has reproduced in a large format with captions 140 images taken across the Indian subcontinent, many previously unpublished and is accompanied by an introductory essay from historian and writer William Dalrymple, who hosted the photographer at the just concluded Jaipur Literature Festival.

After several years of freelance work, the US-born McCurry
made his first of what would become many trips to India. Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and another of film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera.
It was after several months of travel that he found himself crossing the border of Pakistan. There, he met a group of refugees from Afghanistan, who smuggled him across the border into their country.
Emerging in traditional dress, with full beard and weather-worn features after weeks embedded with the Mujahideen, McCurry brought the world first images of the conflict in Afghanistan, putting a human face to the issue on every masthead.

Since then McCurry went to create stunning images from across the world. His work spans vanishing cultures, ancient traditions, contemporary culture as well as international and civilian conflicts including Burma, Sri Lanka, Beirut, Cambodia, Philippines, Gulf War, former Yugoslavia and Tibet.
A high point in his career was the rediscovery of the previously unidentified Afghan refugee girl, Sharbat Gula, after almost two decades since taking original photograph of her that many described as the most recognisable photograph in the world today.
McCurry said he never thought that the photograph would evoke such a response around the world.
"I was in a refugee camp near Peshawar. I went to a girl's school and I saw that little girl. She has this amazing look, and I took her picture and it ended up on the cover of the National Geographic magazine," he said.

"There was amazing reaction around the world, I had never dreamed that it will become such a popular picture," he said.
After travelling the world in search of beautiful photographs, McCurry has shifted his focus closer home.
Working alongside travel writer Paul Theroux, he shot several pictures for Theroux's new book 'The Deep South' which concentrates on the southern region of America.
"The south was a different place 50 years before, it has a strong regional character, so it's kind of interesting. As we travel around the world, we thought why don't we take some rest and do something in our country," he said.