Dipanjan Chakraborty — Co-Founder, Director and Chief Scientific Officer at ZeiniX Life Sciences, Bangalore — grew up in Kolkata, shaped by the creations of Satyajit Ray and the city’s unmistakable mix of romance, grit, curiosity and intellectual depth. His travels began early, first with his family and later through years of study and work across India and abroad.
Photography entered his life almost by accident. During childhood vacations, he picked up a camera simply to experiment. What started as a casual habit became a serious pursuit with the advent of digital SLRs, eventually turning into a passion that has accompanied him for more than twenty years. His journeys have taken him through forests, remote landscapes, ancient cultural corridors, coastlines, and mountain ranges, each adding to a growing archive of images, experiences and memories.
Dipanjan’s work has appeared as photo-stories on platforms like Rediff and in publications such as ‘Jol-Jongol’, as well as in limited-edition books including ‘India Unveiled’, ‘Light Down Magazine’, and ‘India in 100’. His photographs have also been part of international exhibitions hosted by Retro Kolkata, Chobi-O-Ghor Foundation, Beyond Vision, ASX, Streets of Tripura, and others.
At the heart of his endeavour is a desire to document the human journey – its quiet moments, untold stories, and everyday poetry. He prefers to work beyond the so-called photographic labels, and create visual stories in spaces where genres meet and dissolve.
The Literature Times: Author, welcome to The Literature Times. Congratulations on the publication of your book! What feedback do you get from your readers? Please share your thoughts on this book.
Dipanjan Chakraborty: Thank you! The book has just been launched, and the early feedback has been way beyond my imagination. Many readers I’ve never met or known have written to say they felt an emotional connection with Kashi through the photographs and the short texts. People who have never visited the city now say they want to go, and those who know Kashi well – including people who live there – have told me that the book made them see their own city differently. They’re noticing and appreciating things they hadn’t paid attention to before. For me, that’s the most meaningful part, the biggest satisfaction: that my work could touch people, elicit emotion and help them look at a familiar place with fresh eyes and heart. One thing many readers have said is that they haven’t seen any other work on Kashi that captures the city’s quiet simplicity and the poetry at its core. This has been my endeavour, why I started photographing in Kashi.
This photography book is really a reflection of my own emotional connection with Varanasi. Though I grew up in Kolkata, Kashi always felt like a cultural and spiritual second home. In Kolkata, you will invariably come across someone or the other in every family circle to have a link to the city, and in my case, my maternal grandmother was from Kashi. I grew up hearing stories about her home on the ghats, her school days, and life in the narrow lanes. I was also deeply influenced by Satyajit Ray’s writing and films, which shaped how I imagined the city long before I ever visited it. When I finally did in the nineties, I fell in love instantly. It was as if I have known Kashi for years, for lives may be. There was an uncanny sense of déjà vu. Over the last thirty years, through many visits, I’ve lived the city’s rhythm, its unmistakable character, and its quiet charm. There is something about Varanasi that can’t be put into words, and I absorbed all of it. Photography came much later, in the last fifteen years or so. I don’t see myself as a documentary photographer; I look for simple, quiet aesthetics rather than dramatic or loud visuals. This book is my attempt to create a visual space that shows the timeless, everyday soul of Kashi – not the cluttered, exaggerated version often seen on social media today. These images are fragments of my own journey with the city. Its my homage to the city I find myself the most.
The Literature Times: What motivates you to become a photographer or a visual story teller?
Dipanjan Chakraborty: As a young boy dabbling with a camera, I came across a line by the great Ansel Adams that stayed with me: “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” I may not have fully understood it then, but I definitely do now.
Photography takes a snippet out of time and holds it still, forever. An instant which can never be recreated in time and space. It can hold a mood, an emotion, or a small truth in a way nothing else can. Sometimes an image tells a story; sometimes it simply creates a feeling.
Making photographs gives me a sense of purpose and calm. Its my way of seeking. I do it mainly for myself, and when someone responds emotionally to an image I made, I feel contended.
The Literature Times: What are your favourite photography topics? Please tell us a little bit about your photographic interests.
Dipanjan Chakraborty: Candid tales of humanity. Expressions, emotions, beliefs. My photography style embodies an essence of fluidity and poetry. Not the staged ones, the loud ones, not the ones in a studio setting. Simplicity and solitude is at the core of my yearning for photography. Nature and wildlife is another area where I find my refuge, my peace. Celebration of life is my area of interest.
The Literature Times: We were hoping you might tell us about some of the photographers that have influenced you and who you follow!
Dipanjan Chakraborty: Over the years I have been mesmerised by works of great photographers and even cinematographers. And the list isn’t confined to any specific genre. Obviously, legends like Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange did have an indelible impact during my growing up days. Steve McCurry, Raghu Rai and the late Prabuddha Dasgupta are someone whom I try to learn from, like almost every photographer do in India! Dhritiman Mukherjee & Paul Nicklen holds special place in my heart for their tireless work on natural history. And of course, Jayanth Sharma & Anjan Ghosh, who have penned foreword for my book. I have written about them in detail in my book. Beyond them, there are countless others who inspire me everyday.
The Literature Times: The title is unique and appealing; how did you come up with them? Please tell us the story behind it.
Dipanjan Chakraborty: The title ‘Kashi – Chronicles of Eternity’ came to me instantly. There was never a second option. I think it had been living in me long before I ever planned to publish this book. To start with, my book would always have the name ‘Kashi’, and not Varanasi or Banaras. The name Kashi was non-negotiable. It’s the name I grew up hearing in stories, in films, and in books. It holds an emotional truth, a nostalgia for me that Varanasi or Banaras doesn’t.
‘Chronicles of Eternity’ comes from the feeling the city gives you the moment you step onto the ghats. It’s as if time becomes fluid. You could be standing in the present, or a hundred years ago, or thousands. The everyday scenes and small human stories feel timeless, repeating themselves across generations. It feels as if you are in time travel, you are getting a glimpse of humanity from another era. The unique visual and sensory imagery of the city remains the same – everytime you go there. These are the chronicles I wanted to show, not the ones which makes for those grand mythological epics, but the simple, enduring rhythms of human life that seem to stretch across eternity.
The Literature Times: What are your achievements so far? Tell us something about your photography career.
Dipanjan Chakraborty: Frankly speaking, photography is something I do as an extension of myself, as a means to connect to my inner being. I have never considered photography to be a career option in the usual sense of the term, yet it is what I identify myself with the most. In this age of social media, where the urge for an instant gratification is an obsession, I am a bit of an outlier. I find my fulfilment in the creative process itself. I don’t necessarily create to be seen. I create because it’s who I am, and that’s where my true satisfaction lies. That said, my work has been published as photo-stories in platforms like Rediff, online journals, wildlife print journals such as ‘Jol-Jongol’, limited edition photography books like ‘India Unveiled’, ‘Light Down Magazine’, ‘India in 100’ and showcased in various exhibitions over the years – organised by Retro Kolkata, Chobi-O-Ghor foundation, Beyond Vision, ASX, Streets of Tripura, among others.
The Literature Times: What is your current goal in photography a career? How do you see your future in photography and visual story telling?
Dipanjan Chakraborty: As I’ve said earlier, I simply enjoy making images. Photography is not a ‘career plan’ for me in the traditional sense; it’s something I do because it feels true to who I am. Going forward, I hope to create photographs — and write alongside them — in a way that can stand the test of time. If my work can still speak to people years from now, that would mean a lot.
I also want to focus more deeply on wildlife, natural history and environment, which have always been close to my heart. There is a large body of my work in this space that has never been published, and I would love to bring that out into the world someday. Beyond that, I hope to explore new places and stories — the quieter tales of people, cultures, traditions, and everyday life — and interpret them in my own way. If I can keep growing, keep seeing more honestly, and keep creating work that feels authentic, that is the future I imagine for myself in photography and visual storytelling.
The Literature Times: Do you have any other photostories in the works? Please keep us updated on your future endeavours.
Dipanjan Chakraborty: Yes, I do. I am working on my tribute to Kolkata. Then a series on Indian culture, festivals and rituals. Wildlife and nature, as I said earler. And a lot more to explore.
The Literature Times: How do you view Indian photography in the twenty-first century? What changes do you see in today’s photography style? Do you feel it has been changed by the time?
Dipanjan Chakraborty: Indian photography today is a mix of exciting possibilities and some real challenges. On the positive side, taking photographs has become far easier and far more accessible. A camera now lives inside a phone, and the technology has improved tremendously — whether it’s the ability to shoot from the hand or from a drone, or the simplicity of editing and processing images. This has created a new generation of photographers who are producing remarkable work. The visibility their work receives is also much higher than in the past, thanks to digital platforms. In many ways, this is a wonderful development because more people are engaging with photography, creating breath-taking photographs hitherto unseen.
But there is also another side to this change. There is a big difference between simply taking pictures and practising photography as an art form. Because it is so easy now, the number of images being produced has exploded, and with that, the overall quality has taken a hit. In my opinion, photographs today are often consumed quickly rather than appreciated slowly. The sheer speed and volume of content have made photography feel more like a commodity than a craft. We need to slow down.
And then there is the presence of AI, which has introduced a new kind of challenge. Creation no longer needs to be entirely human, and that raises questions about authenticity and artistic intention. Commercial consumption of photography is no longer dependant on human effort, even though it makes ‘business sense’. Then, there is an obsession on being ‘liked’. Being ‘followed’. The dire need to impress.
Yet, despite all this, I believe strongly that true image-making will endure. The human eye and human emotion will always matter. I won’t be surprised if film cameras, or some hybrid analogue – digital approach, return in a meaningful way, because people still crave the human touch, the unpredictability, and the soul that only real photography can give.
The Literature Times: How simple/difficult was it for you to publish your book? What message do you want to send to aspiring authors?
Dipanjan Chakraborty: Much simpler than I thought. Once I put my heart and soul into curating this book, the rest was easy. I must say my publisher Astitva Prakashan did a wonderful job of making the process seamless. They have taken care of issues like ISBN, copyright, promotion and distribution, which is not my forte. My advice to aspiring authors would be to solely focus on your work; the purpose, the soul and the quality of your work. That’s what ultimately decides the sucess of publication. Leave the rest to experts.
