Some things in life are meant to happen. Just glancing through the papers, Jasleen had two week before she could pack her bags for her transformative journey to Ladakh in 1976, where Dalai Lama was going to conduct the sacred Kalachakra Ceremony amid the tall desert mountains outside Leh. Opening her treasure chest of
memories, Jasleen Singh decided to share them with the world through her recent exhibition called Kalachakra-Leh, 1976, in the capital. Walking back in time, she shares, “Each picture took me back to those days. These photographs are more than 30 years old. When I first decided to bring them up, my first concern was the quality of these pictures. I had to work a little on colour quality, but the most difficult part was to pick a handful out of a thousand. When I saw them, I recalled every moment spent in Leh.”
As she tries to recall the events that led her to the ceremony, she says, “When I came to Delhi after 6 years of studying in London and New York, I just read that the government had opened the tourism doors to Ladakh for the first time. Having read Buddhist philosophy, literature and the Kalachakra practice, I had to be a part of it. So I packed my three cameras, rolls of film and a small tape recorder, and started my journey,” Jasleen shares.
And her struggle didn’t end there. In her 20s at that time, Jasleen, who was given a room at the Border Police barracks, describes the first few days as miserable and lonely. “They had no hot water. But now I feel that they were preparing me for the magical journey. The next week was magical,” she says with a smile.
From the first light of dawn to witnessing the ancient ceremony in its purest form, her pictures are quite descriptive of the spiritual journey she personally went through. “Every morning I arrived at the venue by 4 am. What amazed me the most was the sea of people that had gathered to be a part of the ceremony. I felt really blessed after coming back from the Kalachakra ceremony. I feel those blessings worked for me throughout my life. I was even given access to photograph the inside of the glass temple,” she says.
What’s interesting about the exhibit is also a compilation of the facial expressions of the lamas. “Over the time that I stayed there, lamas became my friends. Most of them are no longer alive, so my exhibit is also a tribute to them. It was intriguing to shoot their expressions throughout the journey as it was a changing experience for each one of us,” she concludes.
The exhibition is on till March 1 at the India International Centre.