William Dalrymple's Mobile Phone Photography Exhibition at Akara Art Mumbai

William Dalrymple presented black-and-white photographs taken with a Samsung Edge phone between 2015 and 2017 at Akara Art in Mumbai from April 13 to May 3. The images, edited through the Snapseed app and printed in archival pigment, document locations across India and Pakistan visited during research for his book The Anarchy. Sites included Mughal havelis, forts, mosques, Sufi shrines, temples, colonial buildings, and specific locations like Gilgit, Chitral, and Abbottabad. Dalrymple compared his approach to Henri Cartier-Bresson's, describing it as 'guerrilla photography.' The exhibition featured portraits like The Truck Painters of Abbottabad, Pakistan and Immersing the Goddess, Durga Puja at Prinsep Ghat, Calcutta, the latter referencing his great-uncle James Prinsep. Wall text noted the photographs aim to trigger memories of an 'older, more elegant world.' Some visitor comments mistakenly assumed images depicted 'undivided India,' overlooking the regional scope. The show appeared in ArtReview Asia's Summer 2018 issue. Dalrymple, founder of the Jaipur Literature Festival, has focused on Mughal Empire history throughout his career.