"Calcutta - Walking in the City"- an exhibition of photos on show here leads the uninitiated on a walk through history through Kolkata, a city that Chennai-born Padmanabhan is fond of and one which holds significance with respect to growth and development of the printing press in India.
"In a generation of paperless documenting, I felt that I must get back to where it all started for a publishing house. I wanted to show what goes behind publishing a book, which our future generations might not even know" says Padmanabhan, a self taught photographer.
The 30-odd mostly black and white photos depicts Swapna Printing Works Pvt. Ltd, a printing press in Ganganagar near Kolkata.
The dimly-lit press has been captured with machines and mechanical instruments strewn is depicted with rolls of papers and other equipments lying around. The photos bring out a certain degree of romanticism behind the act of publishing a book and as Padmanabhan says terms as "the nostalgia behind the books".
"I chose this printing press in Kolkata, since it has a history attached to it. This is where most international publishers published their books, like Penguin India did in 1987", says Padmanabhan who is also Vice President, Sales, Penguin. MORE
