He’s all of 23, but his intriguing project has already put the Kolkata artist-photographer in the middle of a controversial debate, not just nation-wide, but even internationally! Sujatro Ghosh’s brainchild asks one rousing question to the country: is it safer to be a cow in India than a woman?
With crimes and sexual offenses against women all over India being sensationalised almost on a daily basis — and the recent cow vigilantism, mob violence and lynching issues taking centre-stage — Sujatro seeks to bring both trends to light, with an ongoing photo series of women wearing a cow mask and posing on roads, near landmarks or in their houses and workplaces, going about their everyday routine.
The Instagram series has gone viral since Sujatro started it last month to wide-spread acclaim, as well as backlash — provoking the youngster to start a crowdfunding campaign to continue capturing women down in the south of the country also. “Earlier, I’d worked extensively with the LGBTQI community, and dealt with projects on women’s rights and environmental issues, etc. This particular idea was triggered by the core issue of fighting for women’s safety and protection. As an educated person, I wanted to find a non-violent manner to exhibit my dissent, from a normal citizen’s perspective,” explains Sujatro.
Travelling around New York, where he was teaching a workshop and collaborating with an Italian NGO, Sujatro reflected on how deep the problem was, and ended up finding a cow mask at a store there!
“After I returned to India, I wanted to initiate the idea in Delhi, which is a hub to make a statement for anything. I picked iconic spots to shoot the pictures; the backdrop of the India Gate was my first choice. The models in the photos are not professionals at all; they are friends, acquaintances, other volunteers, and so on. As I started uploading the pictures online, more and more women started approaching me not just from all parts of India, but also from Europe and the USA, wanting to be part of it!” recalls Sujatro, triumphantly.
His aim was to make it a public project “with nothing superficial about it” and eventually, spread awareness across India. Sujatro says, “But then, the focus on my project shifted to a political angle, and I had to face a lot of abuse and criticism. Honestly though, I’ve been unfazed by it, because I don’t feel I have to answer to anyone. My silent form of protest doesn’t believe in caste, borders or creed. Next up, I’m looking to shoot women in Bengaluru, and parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.”
With his crowd-finding campaign now up and running successfully, it looks like this young artist’s plan to slowly, but surely reduce violence against women in the country, could finally bear fruition!
