Stray musings

Dogs have been the centrepiece of our life in Goa. The pandemic and my decision to live on the beach gave me the unique opportunity to see and observe their inner life, bereft of human contact and other worldly distractions. And the monsoon in Goa is a beast of its own, with the ability to create some quiet poetic imagery.

To stray literally means to move away from a predetermined course of sorts; to find that appendaged to our own native indie is a travesty of sorts. It is implicit in further creating a common response of unwanted, unowned, unloved thrust on these innocent and helpless dogs in most cases. It essentially feeds into our in-built defence mechanism that uses that word carelessly to discard living creatures in a hope to absolve most of us of our guilt in doing so.

The quiet portrait is my craft of choice, and I have simply extended the same courtesy to my four-legged companions of choice.

‘The Rain Dogs’ project — a forthcoming book and exhibition — started with a skinny, solitary migrant worker from Bihar, whom I encountered every morning. His back always turned towards me, he would gaze at the horizon across the sea on the Dream Beach end of Vagator. Though I photographed him most mornings, one day, all the elements conspired in unison — the fishing boat, the bird, the dog that mirrored his posture and a portentous monsoon sky creating a sublime canvas of longing and life in those bleak times. This picture, for me, is a permanent record of life and longing during the miserable days of the pandemic.

Another image from the series — of a lone fisherman in black in blinding rain, as if conducting the monsoon symphony with the fishing rod like a conductor of sorts and his attentive lead violinist in the black dog — is that one magic moment that happens to photographers rarely in their lives. All the proceeds from the book and exhibition, which will travel nationally, too, will go towards registered animal charities in Goa/India.

— Chawla is a photographer based in Goa and author of the new book ‘Rain Dogs’, published by HarperCollins

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