Like Sugar in Milk by Majlend Bramo. Published in 2018 by the author, Via Buttigliera 135, Chieri, 10023, Italy. Pp: 194. Price: Rs 2,200.
A stark, six-inch embossed gradient in the northwest-southeast direction is the only visual on the front cover besides a very small typeface for the title of the hardbound book Like Sugar in Milk and an even smaller typeface for Majlend Bramo, the Italian author. This serves to intrigue the reader just as the author’s curiosity was piqued on reading the name "Zarathushtra.”
"I wanted to know everything about the epic journey of a small group of people who fled eastward when Persia was invaded by the Arabs and reached Gujarat,” he relates in "Notes from the author.” The graph on the front cover serves a dual purpose: to indicate the path traversed from Persia to India by this religious minority and their demographic decline. "Four years have passed and this book is the result of that initial curiosity,” states Bramo who shot around 30,000 photos on his annual sojourns to India between 2014 and 2018 and selected around 130 of them for this book to capture the nuances and rituals associated with this ethnic group and the areas they have come to regard as home.
Images from Like Sugar in Milk
Dedicated to "those who struggle to survive, those who have surrendered, the refugees of the past, the present and the future,” Bramo writes, "It is a small tribute to all people who struggle to remain alive in this constantly changing world. It is also for those who are making no effort to preserve their own culture, thinking God will take care of them, and for those who are seeking refuge, craving for new beginnings. I think this story can be an example for us Europeans, especially in the world of today where we see so many refuge seekers. What would have happened if King Jadi Rana of Gujarat didn’t allow the Parsis to settle down? What would have been the consequences if his behavior had been egoistic?”
The author has structured his book on a fictional account carried in Qissa-I Sanjan, concerning the mythological King Jadi Rana, the assurance by the refugees seeking shelter to blend like sugar in an overflowing glass of milk, and the promises regarding adoption of the local language, dress, disuse of weapons, and performance of weddings after sundown that were purportedly made by them.
"Bramo has approached this story with the urgency required to save what is regarded as the oldest monotheistic religion and culture; yet he uses modern techniques of allowing the visuals he has documented in these four years to speak for themselves,” writes Parzor director Dr Shernaz Cama in the preface to the book. She further adds, "The preservation of culture and heritage in an increasingly mono-cultural modern world is a challenge facing all communities in the millennium… The tracing of a culture through new eyes is always interesting and throws up many issues that can be lost within a community which has become increasingly inward looking. It is hoped Like Sugar in Milk…will engage many more to study and appreciate Parsi Zoroastrian culture and heritage.”
Bramo has chosen to devote a page to each of his photos which measure less than four inches in length and breadth. The rest of the page remains blank. To understand the relevance of a photo, a reader has to refer to the last 14 pages of the book which carry a thumbnail version of the photo with an explanation.
There are two double spreads in the book, bearing eight photos, each of which is two inches in size. One double spread is meant to capture the Navroz custom among Iranis of looking into a mirror with a prayer for auspicious beginnings. The second double spread with a similar layout carries photos of statues erected for Parsi stalwarts in Bombay. With the photos being so small, one can hardly differentiate one statue from the other!
The first set of 10 images in the book shows present day Bombay with its congestion, transportation and sea facing promenades. With the largest concentration of Parsis now residing in Bombay, the population shift from Gujarat to Bombay has been evident since the 17th century when "they migrated in large numbers to Bombay,” according to Bramo’s explanation.
The next section has photos depicting the community’s religious practices, for Jadi Rana is believed to have asked them to explain their customs prior to granting them refuge. The subsequent section concerns the promise to adopt the native language. It is not clear why a car at Tardeo’s Tata Colony has been included here. The section on dress well projects the array of attires that appeal to the youth in the community. While the first photograph of a little boy wielding a toy gun is beautifully captured, the inclusion of the remaining seven photos in the section on laying down of weapons is questionable. The gaiety and merriment at wedding time is clearly visible. The subject of demographics has substantially absorbed Bramo for he has featured many images concerning gynecology, obstetrics and the Jiyo Parsi campaign. The last photo in the book is of a horse at Bombay’s Mahim Bay.
The lyrics of Time by Freddie Mercury brings the book to a close: Time waits for nobody/ We all must plan our hopes together/ Or we’ll have no more future at all/ Time waits for nobody…
A different perspective
Sharing his experiences with Parsiana in March 2018, 29-year-old Bramo mentioned that he found the "community very open. Some were more liberal and progressive, others more orthodox. I couldn’t go to a fire temple and tower of silence or attend a funeral.” He appreciated that Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia let him document the Dadar Athornan Institute. Besides Bombay, he traveled to Udvada, Sanjan and Calcutta to capture images of the community.
"People were interested in my project. They wanted to know about me,” said Bramo who was born in Albania and moved to Italy when he was two years old. At the age of 19 he started working as a photographer for Corriere Della Sera. Working as a photojournalist for six years, he said that his preoccupation with the daily made him feel "you are married to a newspaper. You don’t have time for anything else. To be an accredited journalist you have to submit 60 articles in a year.”
Choosing to quit his job he decided to come to India every winter, "focus on one story and tell it in the most complete way I could. Photography enables you to create an identity. Parsis have a strong identity,” he stated. When he returns to Italy he works as a commercial photographer. Besides English and Italian he is conversant with Albanian and Spanish.
Contributing to the visual documentation of the Parsi community, according to him the only other similar work is Sooni Taraporevala’s coffee table book, Parsis published 18 years ago. "I am a foreigner so my point of view is totally different. As a foreigner I’m open to everything I see. Everything for me is new.” His design choice and size of photos differed from Taraporevala too. According to him, "Once the story unfolds and makes a visual impact,” it should not be disturbed by captions. "By putting details you will not enjoy the flow of images,” he believes.
In a subsequent email sent to Parsiana Bramo shared the commendation he received from music maestro Zubin Mehta regarding his "beautiful pictures and written commentary.”
Using his earnings for this "self-financed venture,” Bramo explained, "If it is financed by others, you are answerable to them.” With 1,000 copies of the book printed by JAK Printers, he had plans to carry 600 copies to Italy. Determined to promote his book at photo festivals and at book shops, he said this book is "mainly for a foreigner; one who doesn’t know the story.” PARINAZ GANDHI