What makes a photograph linger in the mind? Is it the technique, the framing, the light? Or is it something more elusive – an emotion caught mid-flight, a truth that quietly reveals itself long after the shutter clicks? (#myIndianlink photo contest 2025)
The two winning entries of Indian Link’s #myIndianlink Independence Day Photo Contest this year remind us that great photography is often about seeing the extraordinary in the everyday. For winners Rajesh Dhar and Monojit Dutta, who take home $200 and $150 respectively as prize money, photography is not just a hobby or profession; it’s a way of bearing witness to India’s layered, lived experience.
Who is the creator here, the artist, or the Ultimate Artist he is working upon?
Rajesh Dhar’s photograph is about divine connection. Taken in Kumartuli – the artisan
district of Kolkata famed for its clay idol makers – Dhar frames a sculptor from the back, intently painting the delicate fingers of a towering Durga idol. The idol itself, only partially finished, exudes presence even in its incompletion. Framed between blue tarpaulin and diffused light, the moment is sanctified and still.
“For me, this photo is all about hope,” Rajesh says. “India is often called the land of spirituality, and this frame reflects that. I call this image ‘Hands of God’ because the idol maker is not merely shaping clay. He is shaping faith. And faith, real faith, doesn’t discriminate. It belongs to all.”
Rajesh is no stranger to acclaim. A graduate of the Government College of Art and Craft
in Kolkata, he is a graphic designer by profession and a photographer at heart. His works have been published and exhibited in the UK, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Italy, Australia, and beyond. But he remains grounded in what drew him to the lens in the
first place – the people of India.
“I travel across rural India to capture its festivals, faiths, and life in general,” he says. “Through my images, I try to portray both the merits and the follies of human beings. In Kumartuli, I saw not just craftsmanship but the everyday magic of belief.”
What makes ‘Hands of God’ special is how the sculptor himself is almost anonymous. His back turned, his face unseen. “That’s intentional,” Rajesh explains. “The divine is faceless, and so is the devotion. It’s not about him. It’s about what he’s creating, and what
that creation means to millions.”
A commute, a camera, a connection
If Rajesh Dhar’s photograph is about divine devotion, Monojit Dutta’s image is
about human warmth. Twenty-four-year-old Monojit is a schoolteacher from Howrah who commutes daily to Kolkata. It was during one such routine moment that he spotted the
frame that would go on to win hearts.
In his black-and-white photograph, there’s a quiet moment of connection between a senior couple. Behind them, a film poster crackles with more youthful, romantic energy. It’s a
powerful contrast – the sepia-toned wisdom of age brushing up against the glossy idealism of pop culture.
Monojit, who usually prefers a Nikon Z50 and 18-55mm lens, captured this
with his Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
“I was just waiting at the bus stop when I noticed this connection,” he says. “It was such a fleeting but intimate moment. Two generations acknowledging each other, sharing space and warmth in the middle of chaos.”
For Monojit, photography remains his true passion. “India is full of such moments if
you choose to look,” he reflects. “In a world increasingly consumed by digital distractions, real-life connection still thrives here between family, friends, and even strangers. That’s
what I tried to show.”
It’s also the first time Monojit has submitted his work for a photography contest.
“I never expected to win. It’s given me so much confidence. I’m absolutely ecstatic.”
A shared vision of India
While Rajesh and Monojit stand at different points in their photographic journeys, one
at the threshold, the other with a legacy of accolades, they are united by a shared sensitivity. Their frames both evoke deep emotional truths: that India, in all its chaos and contradictions, still thrives on human connection and spiritual resilience.
These images offer a more nuanced narrative. They show us a country where generations share benches and buses, where artists sculpt the divine in tarpaulin-lined alleys, and where faith and empathy coexist, quietly but powerfully.
The Independence Day theme for Indian Link’s photo contest, like every year, was simple: What’s your feel of India? Out of 141 entries that capture in frames humans, rivers, prayer, monuments, celebrations, the Tiranga, all have offered answers far more vivid than words can tell. Their photographs speak not just of a nation, but of its heartbeat.
And in doing so, they remind us: sometimes, to see India clearly, all you need is a camera, a quiet moment, and the courage to feel.
FIND THE SHORT-LISTED ENTRIES HERE: #myIndianlink Photo Contest 2025: The shots we loved
