Being Here: Vivid Visions of a Tacit Diplomat

For Dnyaneshwar Manohar Mulay, photography is much more than taking snapshots of a foreign country. It is part of being Indian.


"In India we have two activities: the activity of the body and the activity of the mind," said Mulay, the commercial counselor at the Indian Embassy. "I am both diplomat and artist."


The artistic side of Mulay -- 60 color photographs of Moscow -- is currently on display at the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Center next to the Indian Embassy.


Aside from satisfying his creative needs, Mulay said photography enriches his life as a diplomat by helping him to capture aspects of Russian life that he otherwise might overlook. It is also a way to express what he cannot as a diplomat.


"Photography is the safest medium," said Mulay, 36, who has lived in Moscow for two years with his wife and two sons. "Photographs can be read in any which way."


In what he calls a "chronology of the country," the exhibit covers various themes ranging from the visual transformation of Moscow from a colorless Soviet city to one full of billboards and posters, to historical moments like the events of October 1993.


Many of his pictures are also filled with an irony unusual in the world of diplomacy, where tact is at a premium. Take, for example, a view of the backside of a statue of Lenin cryptically called "The Point of View" or a shot of soldiers casually smoking in the foreground of the charred White House entitled "No Smoking."


The embassy's press officer, Agai Malhotra, said he is pleased that a colleague would reflect his interest in Russia beyond his official capacity.


"It is nice that a diplomat shows his involvement in the country through a hobby," said Malhotra, whose embassy went to some lengths to publicize the small show by having a reception for the opening and soliciting press coverage. "Many (Indian) diplomats are authors and contributors in the field of art. But I think this is the first exhibit of photographs by an Indian diplomat."


Despite the high profile of the exhibition, photography has only recently become a creative activity for Mulay, who said he knows nothing about the technical side of the art and operates solely on intuition when taking pictures with his Canon T70.


"I keep the camera in the car," he said. "And, when I see something interesting I photograph it. Photography is a continuous process."


But while Mulay's photography is merely the expression of "purposeful observation," he said writing satisfies another segment of his creative life. He writes poetry in his native tongue Marathi, and he keeps a daily journal of his impressions of Russia.


"Writing and photography are parallel activities," he said.


On top of all that, he is currently working on a collection of Russian jokes, which he would like to publish in English. Mulay has already compiled about 2,000 jokes which he has divided into categories like male-female relationships, social jokes and politics.


"You understand a lot about the country through its sense of humor," said Mulay. "Russians have a sharp sense of humor which reflects the society they live in."