Talking Through His Camera

Pictures actually speak more than a thousand words, with veteran photographer K Bhaskar Rao on the other side of the lens. Capturing images since the past fifty years, and having recently been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for photography at Vizag Journalist Forum, June saw him bringing a few of them together for an exhibition aptly titled ‘Nostalgia’.

As we walked into the lounge of the Visakha museum, a range of photos greeted us. On display is the oldest image of the lighthouse dating back to the 1960s. It is the place where movies Marocharitra and Ek Duje Ke Liye were shot. An image of India’s first municipality at Andhra Pradesh (estd.1861) stands along with images that show the city’s transition over the years. All these images hold stories in them, capturing and freeze-framing moments in the journey of time.

”A real photographer’s job is to record things and show them to the next generation.”

His interest in photography began early and his career in the field took off when he joined the Indian Air Force as a photographer. A self-taught photographer who came into the line in 1958, a lot of K Bhaskar Rao’s technical learning happened during his stint there. Unassuming and simple, he went on to become a freelance press photographer and captured images for various publications. The veteran photographer points out that the role of press photographers is to record images and he has captured milestone moments like ones with Shri Rajiv Gandhi at a rally in Kurupam market area. This was Rajiv Gandhi’s last visit to the city in 1991, a moment that has now been captured for eternity.