The magazine of the photo-essay
October 2020 back issue
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film maker
by Sandipan Mukherjee
I had been feeling very tired. It was late afternoon when we arrived in Jodhpur and found our hotel, but despite this, I
could not wait to start my ‘Blue’ excursion of this great city.
The so called Blue city “Brahmapuri” was around 30 minutes from my hotel. It is situated at the foot of the Mehrangarh
Fort and is famous for its bright blue walls. The area is a complicated network of narrow, spiralling lanes. Using a map I
began to become more confident in my surroundings and was able to ask local families about the heritage and history
of the Shirmali Brahmin sect who inhabit the area.
I walked through the lanes over a period of 2 days, through the different forms: curves , lines, complex structures of this
esteemed heritage of India. Somehow I got a feeling that the strength and vibrancy of the blue is getting diminished day
by day . Urbanization and globalization has made the ancient life of the city, fade. From conversations I had in the Blue
City, I pieced together a story of today’s youth being concerned for themselves and their careers, not their heritage. They
don’t notice that those old blue walls have got and continue to get, hazed, broken, discoloured and converted.
In my mind, no longer are those walls blue, they are turning to Cyan.
