Saraswathi Chakravarty: Trailblazer with Kerala roots to carve a name in history of photojournalism
Decades ago, a young woman walked into the Delhi bureau office of a Malayalam newspaper with a bold request: she wanted an opportunity to take news photographs. At a time when press photography was considered a strictly male domain, she possessed no formal training in the craft and did not even own
Decades ago, a young woman walked into the Delhi bureau office of a Malayalam newspaper with a bold request: she wanted an opportunity to take news photographs. At a time when press photography was considered a strictly male domain, she possessed no formal training in the craft and did not even own
Decades ago, a young woman walked into the Delhi bureau office of a Malayalam newspaper with a bold request: she wanted an opportunity to take news photographs. At a time when press photography was considered a strictly male domain, she possessed no formal training in the craft and did not even own
Kollam: Decades ago, a young woman walked into the Delhi bureau office of a Malayalam newspaper with a bold request: she wanted an opportunity to take news photographs. At a time when press photography was considered a male domain, Saraswathi who possessed no formal training in the craft and did not even own a camera, went ahead to carve her name in history, becoming India's second female photojournalist, following in the footsteps of the legendary Homai Vyarawalla.
Delhi became the Petri dish for her extraordinary career. Draped in her signature sari, she navigated politically tense situations, violent riots, and major national events with a rented camera in hand, capturing history as it unfolded. A defining moment in her career came during the 1982 Delhi Asian Games. Her striking photograph of elephants lined up for the opening ceremony became a major success, paving the way for her to cover the entire sporting event.
Armed with two rented cameras, she captured the spirit of the Games, publishing over 250 photographs across various Malayalam and Tamil newspapers. Beyond sports, she documented some of the country's most volatile political developments, communal clashes, and official portraits of prominent world leaders and prime ministers. Her commitment to the job often came at a high personal cost. While covering a turbulent street protest, she was hit on the head and spent several days recovering in a hospital ICU.
An accidental entry into photography
Her entry into the profession was entirely accidental. While working as a steno-secretary in Delhi, she went to watch the Republic Day parade. Realising that she needed official media accreditation to photograph the parade, she decided to walk straight into a news bureau to demand a chance to shoot. Decades later, her poignant photograph of police loading the bodies of victims into a vehicle during the communal riots in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, is being showcased at a news photography exhibition organised as part of the state conference of the Senior Journalists' Forum.
Now 78, Saraswathi has retired from active photography, but her deep roots in Kerala remain strong. Her mother, Rajamma, belonged to Anandavalleeswaram in Kollam, while her father, Ramaswamy, was from Chala in Thiruvananthapuram. Photography runs deep in her household; her late husband, Shankar Chakravarty, was a celebrated press photographer, and her son, Subramanian, currently works as a photography instructor in Canada.