Institute History
Description
Journeyings and Conversations is a striking visual poem depicting life inside and around Howrah Station, the gateway to Calcutta. In a film virtually without dialogue (only once or twice does someone address the camera), Arvind Sinha takes an observational approach that washes gently over us. With the exception of a lone homeless woman who lives in the station, we meet no characters and learn nothing about individual people.
What we do discover about everyday life is revealed in the images—we look and we see—quietly, so as not to disturb. Sinha journeys invisibly into the dizzying chaos and intoxicating colors, recording pictures and ambient sounds of everyday life: men bowing on prayer rugs, street songs and celebrations, the gathering of pilgrims on their way to Gangasagar, lifeless bodies crouched on newsprint. Sinha does not judge; he simply allows us to look and see what is there—not as voyeurs, but as respectful observers.
A native of Calcutta, Sinha is at home in Howrah and its surroundings. He wants us to grasp something profound about the reality of everyday life in this place, and thanks to his film, we do.