Mother, Ma, Amma, Mom
by Sagnik Bagchi
Mother, Ma, Amma, Mom - whenever I hear these words, I can relate to one thing - a comfort zone. A safe house where you're loved and nurtured, for whoever you are. No harsh judgements, just pure love.
Well, the last few months have been pretty rough. I had cone home from my college in Bhubaneswar, to capture pictures of Holi. Who knew that a three-day vacation would turn into a never-ending stay at home?
At first, when the lockdown was announced, I was absolutely pissed. I was in Kolkata and couldn't roam in the streets of my city. It was tough, being at home, 24x7. But there was one positive thing - I would get to spend more time with my mother, which would not have been possible otherwise.
Although my mother's a working lady, much to my delight, her office was closed due to Corona. We started bonding and connecting after a long time - watching movies, learning new recipes and she enquiring about my college life, etc.
Okay, so the lockdown was turning out to be not so bad, after all. Yes, I missed the smell of at Koley Market, the sunsets at Princep, the shingaraas, the roshogollas, catching the odd movie with my friends, but my mother made sure that I do not get bored at home, and she always tried to keep the spirit up!
Now, the one thing that was bugging me terribly was the fact that I was not able to click pictures. I became restless. But, on seeing a few other photographers, I decided to try and shoot at home. It would definitely test my skills and would be a good learning experience as well. I had to focus more on my framing, composition, observation and find stories in my daily life, in my regular surroundings.
Seemed really tough at first, so I tried to observe. I wasn't really getting any shots. So I thought of documenting my favourite person, my mother. Well, I had not tried such a thing ever in the past, so it was something new and challenging. But, I was up for it.
I started observing her. Saw her activities around the house. It surprised me as to how much effort she puts in. It's like she's the fulcrum to our everyday life. This family wouldn't function at all without her!
She wakes up at 5 am and works non stop. Cooks breakfast, cleans the entire house, picks up milk packets from the main gate, and whatnot. Certainly made me realize what a lousy son I had been. So, I started helping her too.
This definitely brought us closer. We shared some laughs, I wiped her tears too when she was low and used to breakdown. She helped me with my academics, I helped her with the chores.
Although she had to resume going to office in mid-April, still I tried to spend quality time with her and managed to capture some candid moments in between as well.
This quarantine life has been pretty rough on all of us, but I am so glad that I could reconnect with my mother and also keep my passion for photography alive in testing conditions.
Hello, I am Sagnik Bagchi, a 20-year-old photographer from Kolkata, India.
I have tried my hand at several genres of photography, but my personal favourites have to be street photography because of it's unpredictable nature and blink and you miss frames.
I have been clicking for close to two years, mostly using my phone, but sometimes using my dad's DSLR too.