A different view of india

When you ask Sephi Bergerson about Kerala, the first thing he says would be about eating puttu for breakfast every time he visits the state. He loves the state for its picturesque landscape and delicious food. A few days ago, Sephi was in Kerala for an assignment. “I came here for a shoot in Alappuzha on a houseboat and also to meet a few photographers to expand my network. I didn’t know Kochi has so many photographers,” exclaims the acclaimed photographer.

“I have been to Kerala many times, mostly short trips for assignments. There was only one long stay. It was two years ago while I was working on a book (Horn Please) on the life of truck drivers. I travelled in Kerala for a week. We were mostly on road but could see a lot of places. The journey began from Kochi, and we travelled through Munnar, Wayanad and returned to Kochi,” recalls Sephi.

“That was a commissioned book. There were three other photographers and we divided the regions. My focus was on Kerala, Punjab and Rajasthan. But, I kept shooting even after the project was over. So, my body of work is larger than what the book shows.”     

Sephi says he would not have got to see their lifestyle if he had not taken up that project. “I travelled with them to document their life. They lead a very difficult life. It is a subject of HIV awareness, long time away from families and top of all, fatal accidents,” says Sephi who travelled to India in 2002 from Tel Aviv, Israel to become a documentary photographer.

“When you relocate, you should feel the other place like home. India was that for us. It was a place that served so when we came here as travellers. So, moving to India was a natural decision,” he says. But, things didn’t go as expected once they reached India. “The vision you perceive about India as a traveller is, of course, not what the country is all about. In 2002, it was a very different India than it is in 2016.”

Unlike imagined, Sephi had to kick off his Indian life in Delhi and he lived there for 10 years. “We came with four bags, a 10-month old baby and some money. The first few years were very difficult financially, but we were happy. I was working there, but from a different point of view, I was living my dream as a documentary photographer,” Sephi walks down the memory lane.

“It took me a while to begin photography in India. It was by clicking photographs of street food that I began my photography journey here. I spent two years on that project, which eventually came out as a book titled Street food of India in 2009. I was also working for NGOs and magazines. With the book, things started picking up. I needed to master documentary photography as it is different from commercial photography. It was like an Italian cook preparing Kerala cuisine and getting better with each attempt,” he chuckles.

His photographs were featured in other books and magazines. Triumph over Polio and Behind the Indian Veil are two other popular books by Sephi.

According to him, personal and professional lives are intertwined. “Sometimes, a personal project will become a commercial one, and vice-versa. For instance, Behind the Indian Veil, a series on Indian weddings, started as a personal project. However, that eventually became a book and led me to wedding photography. That is how it is supposed to be. There should not be a war between these two worlds,” says the man who had a crowd-funding campaign for publishing the book.

It was Sephi who photographed the wedding moments of singer Benny Dayal. He was surprised and happy to meet the chilled out couple — Benny and Catherine Thangam. “As Benny is of Malayali origin and Catherine is a Syrian Christian, the wedding was a fusion of two traditions, a beautiful South Indian Hindu ceremony and a Syrian Christian wedding,” his blog reads.

Sephi has a lot of memorable moments about Indian weddings. He believes he sees the country from a different angle. “For people who live here, certain things are obvious. But for me, they are interesting. It helps me show the people a different side of their country, things they don’t appreciate,” says Sephi, who is preparing for Silk Inspire 2016, a wedding festival to be held in Goa where he is settled now.