Ageless, Timeless India with Photographer Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic voices in contemporary photography for more than thirty years, with scores of magazine covers, over a dozen books, and countless exhibitions around the world to his name. Born in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McCurry studied film at Pennsylvania State University before going on to work for a local newspaper. After several years of freelance work, McCurry made his first of what would become many trips to India. Travelling with little more than a bag of clothes and another of film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera. It was after several months of travel that he found himself crossing the border of Pakistan. There, he met a group of refugees from Afghanistan, who smuggled him across the border into their country, just as the Russian Invasion was closing the country to all western journalists. Emerging in traditional dress, with full beard and weather-worn features after weeks embedded with the Mujahideen, McCurry brought the world first images of the conflict in Afghanistan, putting a human face to the issue on every masthead. Since then, McCurry has gone on to create stunning images over six continents and countless countries. His work spans vanishing cultures, ancient traditions, contemporary culture as well as international and civilian conflicts including Burma, Sri Lanka, Beirut, Cambodia, Philippines, Gulf War, former Yugoslavia and Tibet. A high point in his career was the rediscovery of the previously unidentified Afghan refugee girl, Sharbat Gula, after almost two decades since taking original photograph of her that many described as the most recognizable photograph in the world today. McCurry has been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, National Press Photographers Award, and an unprecedented four first prize awards from the World Press Photo contest. The Minister of French Culture has also appointed McCurry a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Girish Shahane has degrees in English literature from Elphinstone College, Bombay University, and Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He was editor and later consulting editor of Art India magazine. Exhibitions curated by him include The Presence of the Past (Jehangir Nicholson Gallery, 1998); Art / Technology (Max Mueller Bhavan, Bombay, 2000); Home Spun (Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon, 2011); Bright Noise (Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, 2014), and Midnight’s Grandchildren (Studio X, Bombay, 2014). Shahane was Director of the Skoda Prize for Indian Contemporary Art from 2011 to 2013, Artistic Director of Art Chennai 2014, and Artistic Director of the India Art Fair 2015. He writes a weekly column for Scroll.in