The Fading of the Light - Carl Van Der Linde and Shibani Mitra
I travelled to India south and north, but nowhere in between. My search for enlightenment and the self left me with more questions than answers - Carl Van Der Linde
Carl Van Der Linde is a South African portrait and documentary photographer based in Cape Town. He has a catalytic love for image-making and is drawn to the emotion and romanticism captured in a still image. Known for his transportive travel photography, Carl’s work offers a glimpse of place and time detailing cultural nuances and the contemporary day- to-day happenings of a newly explored city.
In this mesmerizing series by Carl Van Der Linde and Shibani Mitra, Carl explores his inner tension and resolve between the idealizations of India—as a locus for transcendence and spiritual realization—and the grounding reality that spirituality is not a months long quest, but a lifelong journey. During his travels, he reached out to Shibani Mitra, a 23 year old art director and photographer born and based in the coastal town of Pondicherry, India. Shibani grew up absorbing the bright statured colours of the tropics, the palm trees, and lotus pond. As a result, her work is permeated by her deep love for the local flora—flowers, leaves, clay, and water. Together, Carl and Shibani conceptualized intimate shots around Pondicherry and Auroville. They chose banana leaves and jasmine (malli pu,) which are found at the local flower shops where the jasmine is wrapped in banana leaves and sold. Shot on both slide and black and white film, these portraits are styled with typical South Indian elements to create a gentle freshness that reflects the local psyche.
SOUTH - A golden orb, about five stories tall initially drew me to a commune city called Auroville in South India. A monumental structure, the Matrimandir, is the spiritual centre of Auroville, a somewhat free-from-religion Church located at the the commune’s heart. It's architecturally marvelous - the golden discs shine like halos in the south's warm setting sun. It’s a reminder that man's search for meaning and enlightenment stands above everything else. Such is the value that Aurovillians attach to this structure, that I couldn't get the shot that I wanted for my initial story to do a project around this mysterious place. The city was covered in red tape and to my frustration, restricted media access to the Matrimandir. Knowing then that the project I’d been conceptualising for months will not work out the way that I wanted, I felt stuck. I found inspiration again by reaching out to Shibani Mitra, a local artist from neighbouring Pondicherry to shoot some conceptual floral themed images. India was supposed to be the place for finding answers. I was supposed to experience the metaphysical, effortlessly let go of the ego and shave my head in devotion to a deity. Instead, I felt defeated and isolated. I wanted what those Beatles chaps had, they made transcending from the self look trouble-free and stylish. I looked up their ashram and decided to head north to Rishikesh.
NORTH - Determined to find Shangri-La and leave with my ego on the banks of the Ganges, I headed up to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand province at the foothills of the Himalayas. In a town before Rishikesh, remains of a giant festival litter the side of the road as rubbish lays strewn across the landscape where thousands of tents were pitched days before. Towering colourful statues of deities, holy men walking in robes, vendors selling street food and memorabilia. Stairs leading into the icy Ganges from both sides make it easier for attendees to bathe in the sacred water - it looked like a spiritual Disneyland. Arriving in Rishikesh was what I imagined North India to be from books and films - ashrams, cool climate, steep mountains and the clean, teal rapids from the Ganges meandering through the valley. Having been between projects I didn’t have time to immerse myself as I’d like to have done by searching for quietness, meditation and yoga. Nonetheless, I found solace in good company, spicy food and spectacular views. I realised that India is too vast to explore for even months of travel, one surely needs a lifetime simply to understand the complexities of their culture, society and religion. I would have to give it a second shot.
