Page 424 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

PHOTOGRAPHY 421

is not available. However, it can be safely assumed that photography took off shortly
in Dhaka also after its initiation in Kolkata (the capital of undivided Bengal) in the
middle of the 19th century. It is derived from the available data and evidence that the
portrait of Khwaja Alimullah, who was a zamindar and businessman in Dhaka, is the
first photograph of Dhaka. Khwaja Alimullah died in May 1854. He had close
friendship with the Armenians and the British. Since the rich and elite were involved
in photography it can be assumed that Khwaja also availed himself of opportunities to
handle the camera. A reproduction of his portrait has been discovered in the house of
his heir Khwaja Latifullah in Mymensingh Road of Dhaka. It was probably
reproduced from an Urdu or Persian periodical or book. However, the date, the name
of either the photographer or the studio could not be found out.
Some information about photography practices in Dhaka is found in the accounts of
Tahur Ahmed. He has mentioned the shooting of a documentary in Dhaka in the year
1856. He wrote: ‘The first photograph of East Bengal (or East Pakistan) was taken in
1856. It was a documentary. Photographs were taken again in 1956 after a long gap of
a hundred years. It was called Mukh o Mukhosh’. [Trans.] It can be inferred that he
14
was talking about still photographs. Movie cameras were not yet fully developed at the
time Tahur Ahmed wrote about the documentary shoot in Dhaka. Photography was
reasonably established in Dhaka around the decade of 1860s. In the decade of 1890
Nawab Ahsanullah, Nawab Salimullah, Hiralal Sen and Raghunath Das practiced
photography. In 1895 (Bengali Year 1302) Anand Kishore of Keraniganj, Dhaka wrote
a book titled Provachitra ba Photography Shiksha. In 1910 a photography studio called
R.C. Das and Sons was set up in Dhaka. It is the first photography studio of Dhaka.
This studio sold photographic materials like cameras, films, plates and paper and it
also mounted photographs. 15
On the other hand, R. De and Subolchandra Saha of Mymensingh, Ashwiny Kumar
Bandoapadhaya, and Janokinath Sen of Noakhhali and Satischandra Sikder of
Faridpur played an important role in the development of photography during the
beginning of the 20th century. 16
‘Capfiz and Technical Art Studio’ was set up in Dhaka before 1920. Other than that there
was also the studio set up by Charuchandra Guha and Fritz Kapp. The camera was
previously in the possession of foreigners and later was recognized as a means of
profession, art and for preserving memories, due to the patronization and assistance of
the Nawabs, zaminders, businessmen and the educated class. However, music, dancing,
acting and painting were taboo in conservative Bengali Muslim society until 1920.
Photography was not exempt from these restrictions. Nonetheless, a Muslim has secured
his name in history by being involved in photography right when photography was
initiated in the subcontinent. This talented photographer is Lucknow’s Ali Ahmed Khan. 17
On the other hand, the Nawab family played a significant role in the development of
photography in Dhaka or Bangladesh. Nawab Khwaja Abdul Gani (1813-1901) was
interested in photography. His son Khwaja Ahsanullah (1846-1901) was involved in
Kolkata-centered ‘Photographic Society of India’. Like his father Nawab Khwaja
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Ahsanullah, Nawab Khwaja Salimullah (1871-1915) adored photography. It is known