A place where love for photography and passion for heritage find a home
Started by author, educator, and activist Vikramjit Singh Rooprai in 2010, Heritage Photography Club is an online community where the love for the country’s built architecture combines with the passion for still images.
On a visit to Chandni Chowk, photography enthusiast Tripti Shukla stumbled upon an intricately carved bottle-green door. Fascinated by its old-world charm, she took a close-up shot of the door, which was published on a website. Sometime later, a woman connected with Shukla, informing her that the door belonged to her grandmother’s ancestral home. Shukla shared the story along with the picture on the Instagram page of the Heritage Photography Club, with the hashtag #Doorstory.
It is heartwarming stories like these that bring the photographs of the club alive.
Started by author, educator, and activist Vikramjit Singh Rooprai in 2010, Heritage Photography Club is an online community where the love for the country’s built architecture combines with the passion for still images. From wide-angle shots of an entire monument to close-ups of statues, members of the club share pictures of different kinds of shots of forts, temples, city gates, canals and step-wells captured in their lens.
Says founder Rooprai: “I always had an interest in photography. Later, heritage became my bigger passion and I decided to merge them both. It was this deep appreciation for India’s architectural marvels that motivated me to start the club.”
Be it a seasoned photographer looking to refine their skills or a beginner eager to explore the world of heritage photography, the doors of the club are open to all sorts of photography enthusiasts, hobbyists, and professionals who share a common fascination for India’s architectural history. “There was a time when Facebook was a sensation. I encouraged people by saying that if you come with me, I can show you a place that can get you a lot of ‘likes’ on FB,” says Rooprai, about the early days of the club.
Says Subhodip Mukherjee, senior research analyst at S&P Global, who joined the group in 2018: “Exploration, preservation, and celebration of India’s built heritage is something which has always been dear to me. Through this club, I have met like-minded people who are as passionate about Indian heritage as I am.”
The photographs shared by the community are not restricted to only the capital’s heritage. Be it a bugs-eye view of Ambapur ni Vav in Gandhinagar, where the shot was taken from below, creating a rectangular stepwell frame of the sky; the detailing in Lady Flora statue at Mumbai’s Flora Fountain, or the mauve-ombre skies juxtaposed with Rani Rupmati’s Mahal in Mandu, nooks and corners of the country’s varied architectural history finds a home on social media pages of the club.
Those interested in joining the club can connect on its Facebook page @TheHeritagePhotographyClub after which they can submit their entries on its Instagram page.
