Dear Friends,
Considered to be the father of photojournalism, Henri Cartier-Bresson (22 August 1908—3 August 2004) was a world-famous French photographer who co-founded ‘Magnum Photos’ along with Robert Capa, David Seymour, George Rodger and William Vandivert. He spent more than thirty years on assignments for the Life magazine and other journals. He documented some of the great upheavals of the twentieth century which included the Spanish Civil War, the liberation of Paris in 1944, Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral in 1948, the fall of the Kuomintang administration in China, the student rebellion at Paris in 1968 to name a few. His published works include reputed titles like The Photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson (1947), The Decisive Moment (1952), The Europeans (1955), People of Moscow (1955), China in Transition (1956), Photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson (1963), About Russia (1973), etc.
In April 1950 Henri Cartier-Bresson had visited Pondicherry and taken several photographs of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo.
An account of Henri Cartier-Bresson recalling his experience of taking Sri Aurobindo’s photographs has been published on the website of Overman Foundation.
With warm regards,
Anurag Banerjee
Founder,
Overman Foundation.
_____________
(I)
Four times a year Sri Aurobindo has darshan with the 700 or so Ashramites. Mother has personal contact with each one with her strong kind and fascinating eyes. Most of the Ashramites are Bengalis or Gujeratis. Pondicherry is a small provincial town with 5 or 6 blocks of well kept beautiful 17th century French houses along a sandy beach, with behind inland the Indian section with smaller houses o f the same period, not as well kept. Pondicherry has the charm of a silent little town: the only other town that has as much charm is Cochin built by the Dutch and Portuguese, (I haven’t see n Goa .)… The streets are deserted, like in the early Chirac or some little towns in northern Italy, except at the hours the disciples go to their gathering places. I must say in that section of town I did not see an ugly building, none of these hideous things built nowadays. The only new building is of such beauty, in the Le Corbusier style: it was built by a young architect half Yugoslav and half American, as a guest house for the Ashram. They call it Golconde—all in perfect proportions.
I took pictures of the different activities of the day which consist of the Mother giving and receiving flowers of symbolic significance. Workshop work, as the Ashram does everything itself, printing, binding, carpentry, copper, foundry, bakery etc. … and gymnastics in the evening.
The mysticism is only noticeable in the relations with “Mother” and all the sweet smiles coming from some other world. She has a tremendous personality and the Ashramites say that she is “the manifested aspect of divinity”. She seems to be a very kind person with a tremendous energy which has absorbed the will of all the disciples.
I first took pictures of people reading in the Bibliothéque. I had given my word that I would not take her picture, so I shot the disciples passing in front of her. Then I went to the Ashram workshops, aluminum, foundry of copper and brass, then at the printing shop … then in the carpentry shop, children hired from the town weaving. I took photographs of Golconde, also of the Ashram farms and of the irrigation in the traditional way. The Ashram promised to send you [Magnum Photos] directly figures on the different aspects (number of men, women, children, costs, significance of flowers).
Shots of irrigation, dining hall (the food is pleasant but always the same), caste is not used here. Spotlessly clean; one is requested not to eat with one’s fingers. A devotee (bearded) in front of Golconde—gymnastic exercises. Mother plays tennis at 5 and afterwards attends the gymnastics. Exercises around Malkhamb. Asanas of a yogi called Ambu.
I was allowed after much discussion, in which the Mother and General Secretary listened with much courtesy to my arguments, to take photographs of the Mother, or to put it more precisely to include her in the distance in the rear ground of my pictures. From there it was allowed to come to closer-ups as we got to know each other better. After the gymnastics was over, everybody stood at attention and for 10 minutes meditation, afterwards Mother went into a small adjoining yard to distribute nuts to the children, and after receiving little bouquets, she would choose a flower with a special meaning and give it to a disciple with a long seraphic smile. A few feet in front of her was standing the young physical instructor, a sturdy Bengali.
Saluting Mother, I quickly finished the roll on disciples waiting on the street at the foot of the balcony for the first rituals of the day which repeats itself every morning at 6.45 a.m.
Mother was late that morning, 10 minutes. People waited in concentrated silence when she appeared, all hands joined with ecstatic smiles on their faces. Mother was turning her head at the slowest motion from the extreme right of the street to the other end with an enigmatic smile. This very slow motion gave her time to see exactly who was there, and at the end she disappeared inside as an apparition. Quietly the crowd of disciples broke to have breakfast at the dining hall. But this is a great day, one of the days that Sri Aurobindo appears from his room. Devotees come from all parts of Bengal, Gujerat, and elsewhere (including some devotees who were the week before in Tiruvanamalai). They were buying flowers in the streets.
I had the great privilege to be allowed to take pictures of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother at Darshan if I would keep in my pictures the atmosphere of “artistic darkness’ which Mother had imparted to the recess in which she was sitting. For 2 hours people were passing one by one in front of them…
Back at Golconde I took pictures at 6.30 a.m. The disciples gathering in the street before the balcony appearance of the Mother. I was so struck by the balcony appearance and the audience that I came back a second day and I must say the Mother was very kind to me by moving her head from left to right exceptionally slowly to give me time I am sure to be able to carry on my work properly on the disciples. I am sorry there was no time, but I would have liked to have had a long chat with the Mother on worldly subjects…
The morning after Darshan [i.e. on 25 April] I went to thank the Mother for giving me permission to take their picture at Darshan, but I told her that the conditions of the light there would make the results most unsatisfactory to the disciples who were expecting a portrait as clear as the one in circulation now. She told me that is what they wanted from me, some indistinguishable shadow of themselves; this I had fully succeeded. Mother was so helpful and she convinced Sri Aurobindo and I came in his bedroom with my camera. The room was so neat and tidy and impersonal. Sri Aurobindo did not wink an eye during the entire ten minutes I was watching him, he did not seem to belong to that impersonal setting.
I took pictures of Anu dancing, of the dining hall building, of Dr. Banerjee. More photos of the 1.30 p.m. daily ritual with the Mother. Also of her tossing flowers off the balcony. She gives out candies (very good ones too) to the gymnastiques [sic]. Mother sleeps only 3 or 4 hours a night. The very nice Bengali gentleman who was taking us around, referred often to Mother’s trances such as: “Mother is not coming down now, she might still be in a trance.”
I took pictures of Pondicherry streets at a time when most of the disciples were indoors and the streets were full of heat and silence. I took color shots too in Kodachrome. I took pictures of Nolini Gupta, the Secretary of the Ashram at 5 p.m. I took pictures of the daily tennis game. I took pictures of Pranab, a young strong Bengali Director of Physical Culture in the Ashram. He is one of the persons closest to the Mother. I took pictures of Pavitra, he is a calm person of great affability and kindness.
While children were doing gymnastics Mother in a little room by the Playground was giving a French lesson to some pupils. They were analysing a text; Mother was asking them what is the difference between success and perfection.
The next morning we were leaving Pondicherry. I took pictures of a French family on the platform of the station — you see very few Europeans walking around town.
The following photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson were published in the Illustrated on 6 January 1951.
(II)
Interview with Henri Cartier-Bresson by Bobbie Voit dated 25 April 1990 at Paris.
My first wife was Indonesian, her education was dancing. Muslim but she was a Vedantist. We both were involved in the United Nations for the independence of Indonesia.
It was Jean Herbert and Liselle Reymond who suggested that I go visit the Ashram, We had just founded Magnum. I stayed in India for one and a half years.
We met Francois Baron who was representing the French Government of India. It was he who introduced me to “La Mere”. It was a delicate matter because Mother was in favour of the Indian independence of Pondicherry.
First I went to Tiruvannamalai—to see Ramana Maharshi who was a completely accomplished being.
A Bharat Natyam dancer who lived in Madras named Chandralekha … a contact.
At Tiruvannamalai I saw a ball of fire moving slowly across the sky. As a practical Frenchman I timed it. Some kid came out and said that Bhagwan (Ramana) died 13 minutes to 9 in the evening.
I think that he was buried vertically. I took pictures with a flash which is something I never do.
Afterwards I went to Pondicherry. Well received by the Mother. She was teaching gymnastic movement. I noticed that the Ashram was very Westernized. She owned about half of Pondicherry, Very well organized. Again she was extremely nice to us.
I did not come just to take pictures. Camera is a sketchbook, a diary. Not interested in photography.
I do not believe in the past—never been a Christian—moved by Buddhism.
With a small camera you can understand immediately the moment and immediately forget yourself.
The Mother let me photograph everything. Then I asked her, “I am only photographing the female aspect of the Divine. What about the male aspect?” She went up to Sri Aurobindo’s room and came down and said, “You can thank me — you can photograph under very subdued light (artistic shadow).”
I am not sure whether she said I could photograph him now or later.
I took photographs in practically pitch dark. I told the Mother this is very embarrassing —the film isn’t fast — people would be disappointed in my reputation and in yours also.
Took more photographs of the Mother playing tennis and the general activities.
Had film developed in Bombay. The Mother wanted to see the contacts. We went through all the contacts together and crossed out certain pictures on the contacts and on the negatives ourselves. The Mother was concerned about her wrinkles and her appearance. All this was done under her supervision, under her direct guidance. Then I went and worked elsewhere in India.
The Mother knew they would be published in Life, Paris Match, Illustrated — in five magazines.
I was not responsible for any of the text that was printed, I only asked of the magazines that captions should not be used with his [Sri Aurobindo’s] photographs.
I kept on working in India. Then one day back in Paris the Mother’s son arrived and explained that the Mother was quite upset by the publication of the Ashram photo in Illustrated — a British magazine. The publisher, an agnostic. wrote the text. I had no control over the text.
She [the Mother] wanted to stop all publication. Robert Capa who was in charge of the business end at Magnum said the only solution is something I never did before in my life, and never did again, that is to sell the negatives. Magnum was created so that the photographer would own the right to the negatives. Capa said. “You do not want to be in trouble with the Mother and Magnum is on the verge of bankruptcy. To stop further publication of the photos, we will sell the negatives to the Mother.”
The price decided upon was what we sold to Illustrated for multiplied by five — as if we had sold it to these five other magazines for the same price.
There was only one other time any of these photos was published — in the photo-portrait book published two years ago by Thames and Hudson..
Also part of the arrangement was that I could keep one set for myself.
That settled the matter. Capa was killed shortly thereafter. Much later, someone I saw in the U.S. accused me of spying…. I am not a disciple of the Mother or a member of the Ashram, but I came with respect and understanding. Pavitra is the one who arranged everything with the Mother.
I feel at home in India spiritually.
After the war I was taking photos of Georges Braque [the French painter] when he escaped from the Germans. Braque gave me the book Zen in the Art of Archery by Herrigel. I consider it a manual in photography. I have been practicing Zen with the camera all along. This brought nee to Buddhism.
Now I am drawing. It is an introverted activity — meditation. Photography is an extroverted form. In photography you are something between a pickpocket and a tightrope walker. We [photographers] always steal something. The Leica is unobtrusive.
I am impatient — I have changed gears into drawing.
To be able to observe you must not be noticed.
My impressions of the Mother — a power woman. Sri Aurobindo was very remote. I had “a tremendous meditation” far away.