Photography Sadanand Menon

Kerala Tourism’s all-India photo exhibition ‘Lenscape Kerala’ opened at Lalit Kala Akademi in the city, showcasing God’s Own Country’s scenic charm, cultural vibrancy and lived experiences as an all-season destination in 100 curated frames. Malayalam actor Seema and writer, critic and former Editorial Advisor to Better Photography Sadanand Menon inaugurated the exhibition, featuring an amazing array of visual splendours contributed by 10 top travelling and media photographers of India. The show will run in the city till March 7. The gallery will be open between 11 am and 7 pm. A masterclass on photography for aspiring photographers will be held at the Akademi on March 5. A country-first initiative, Lenscape Kerala exhibition is curated by eminent art curator and critic Uma Nair. Renowned wild life and conservation photographer Balan Madhavan is the Director of Photography of the project. The participating photographers of Lenscape Kerala had travelled different places of the state and focused on diverse themes, dear to each one of them. In his message to mark the opening of the show in the city, Kerala Tourism Minister Shri P A Mohamed Riyas said this project was conceived as a creative outreach to showcase the immersive experiences the state promises to visitors as an all-weather destination. “We are delighted that this travelling show has come to this great city with which Keralites have a strong and enduring cultural connect,” the Minister said. “Apart from the storied beauty of the coastal state interspersed by rivers, backwaters and hill stations, the exhibition serves as a way-finder by bringing to viewers Kerala’s architectural marvels, cultural expressions and the harmony and togetherness of people that shaped the true Kerala story,” the Minister said. Lenscape Kerala presents the many dimensions of Kerala in a manner that stimulates curiosity, deepens appreciation, and fosters an enduring sense of admiration. The photographers who are part of the project are: H Satish, Kounteya Sinha, Shivang Mehta, Saibal Das, Umesh Gogna, Saurabh Chatterjee, Natasha Kartar Hemrajani, Aishwarya Sridhar, Amit Pasricha, Manoj Arora. According to Uma Nair, the exhibition is crafted as a visual narrative connecting the past and the present effortlessly. The show stands out as a creative initiative considering the exclusive images brimming with dynamism on display, said Balan Madhavan. The participating photographers had travelled through different landscapes of Kerala for five days in last December, covering a range of themes such as nature, wildlife, heritage, rural and coastal life, architecture, festivals and spirituality. Starting from New Delhi, the show had toured Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru, before reaching Chennai.After enthralling viewers in the city, the exhibition will move on to Hyderabad (Mar 12-14), Surat (19-21) and finally to Kolkata (March 27-29).