M
ore often than not, you will
fi nd Jayanta Roy listening
to music through his
headphones as he stands
completely immersed in
the stunning landscape in front of him.
The fi rst time I viewed his photographs,
I felt a sense of serenity and detachment all
at once. Not surprisingly, his favourite song
by Rabindranath Tagore has overtones of
a solitary journey. Jodi tor dak shune keu naashe tobe ekla cholo re, ekla ekla cholo, ekla cholo,
ekla cholo, ekla cholo re... (If they answer not
to your call, walk alone).
This is how the 33-year-old Jayanta
prefers to shoot images—alone, away from
the madness and with all his energies
transfi xed on the photo alone.Childhood paradise
Roy grew up in the lap of greenery, in
the town of Sodepur, 20km outside“We need to love
and care for
nature. it is the
ultimate boss!
no matter what
we have, we will
never be able
to overcome its
eventual loss.”BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY APRIL 2015PROFILE90
PROFILEShowCase
A Melodious Journey
Jayanta Roy in Monochrome
• He is a self-taught
photographer whose job
as a salesman requires
him to travel extensively
around the country.
• Recently, he was
selected as one of the
four winners of the
Tamron Challenge 2015.
• He watches movies
in his spare time.
Forrest Gump,
Shawshank Redemption
and Gangs of
Wasseypur are some of
his favourites.Jayanta Roy has always been in constant awe of India’s magnifi cent landscapes.
Natasha Desai discovers what lies ahead for the photographer.Jayanta made a
series of images during
the build-up of Cyclone
Hud Hud on a beach
in Gopalpur, Orissa in
October, 2014. The entire
area had been placed
under high-alert as it
was dangerous to be
so close to the water.
This image forms a part
of the series which was
made in a span of four to
fi ve hours, after which,
the police asked him to
evacuate the area.