BENU SEN

Benu Sen, The Legend of Indian Photography

If life is a collage of fleeting moments, Benu Sen’s camera has trapped them in myriad tones and hues. Be it his monochromes with alluring play of light and shade, or his poignant candid shots – Benu Sen has proved his métier in varied domains of photography.

Mr. Benu Sen (1932) served as Secretary General, Federation of Indian Photography and President of Photographic Association of Dum Dum was the living legend in the field of International Pictorial Photography. His contribution both as individual artist and as a promoter for the development of Indian Photography is perhaps exceeds that of any Indian Photographer.

Trained to be a ground engineer, Benu Sen’s alliance with the viewfinder happened by a sheer play of chance. It was August 15, 1954, when Sen accompanied a camera-lugging friend to an Independence Day celebration. The device sparked off his curiosity and he was keen to have a look at the new equipment with his friend, who however turned down the request on the ground that his tampering might damage the camera. That came as a blow to his pride which took him the very next day to a junk market in Kolkata – to look for lenses, tin and other scrap materials to assemble his very own camera. The success of this attempt triggered a spurt of diverse experimentation in camera mechanics and darkroom techniques. Not surprisingly, engineering took a backseat.

He was the 3rd man in the world to have received the rare honour of ‘Master of Photography’ (M.F.I.A.P.) from the Federation International de L’Art Photographique, a body under the recognition of UNESCO. He was conferred the Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (F.R.P.S.) in 1975, EFIAP in 1960, ESFIAP in 1972 and number Honorary fellowships like Hon F.J.I.A.P. (Japan), F.N.P.A.S. (Sri Lanka), Hon. F.P.B.S. (Bangladesh), Hon. F.P.A.D (India),Hon. F.C.O.S (Romania), Hon. P.A.B, Hon. S.O.P etc. for his contribution to pictorial photography.

In 1957, Benu Sen, along with a like-minded friends, established the Photographic Association of Dumdum (PAD) to practice, propagate and discuss the nuances of this art form. Another remarkable contribution of Sen is his initiative in setting up a state-of-the-art photography department in the Indian Museum Kolkata. Established in 1963, it was the first of this kind in India.

However, the most notable milestone for this septuagenarian photo artist was perhaps the starting of free photographic courses under the wings of PAD. Since the launch of the course in 1969, PAD has blossomed into a full-fledged institute for systematic schooling in photography, totally free of cost. With an expert faculty, all of whom are engaged voluntarily, it offers a one-year certificate course and a subsequent two-year diploma to aspirants, irrespective of age and academic qualifications. Many of his students are well placed in senior level positions in the Government Establishments (Including Rashtrapati Bhawan, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Defense,, Department of Culture, Department of Science & technology etc.), public sector and autonomous organizations, private sectors and individual entrepreneurship.

His other remarkable contribution to photography are the BS4 formula, an extra ordinary fine grain developer for tropical countries., Tonorama and macro pictography. He introduced colour photogram and colour separation from Black & White Negatives in India.

He has organized seven (7) International Photographic Conferences, twelve (12) All India Seminars, forty eight (48) international Salons and several local exhibitions to promote and propagate photography throughout the world. He organized a number of Solo Exhibitions and Group Shows. He presented a number of papers and published a number of articles, delivered T.V & Radio talks on photography. He was former Vice President and founder member of India International Photographic Council, New Delhi and Former Vice President, Calcutta Photo Club Coordination Center. He has served as Jury of selection in a number of International Salons both in India and abroad during the last 50 years. He has written a few books as well. One of the most valuable publications was “Art of Photography” in 1979. He is co-author of the most important book “Experimental Photography” and “Learn Photography”. Benu Sen’s finesse is all-encompassing, spanning the range of photo-journalism, architectural photography, portraits and the subtleties of pictorialism – according to him an ionic status in the glossy world of Photography. But his most enduring legacy will perhaps be in pioneering efforts in opening up new vistas in photography for the generation after us.