Time is motion. Until time stops. This rare occurrence happens in a metaphysical space such as Old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. Over the years, in my numerous visits to this perdurable setting, I have experienced this phenomena as I tried to capture moments in time. But the resulting images could well be frames from a stop motion film leading me to meander in a parallel universe: How would Chandni Chowk’s ancient alleys, minarets, havelis and teeming humanity have inspired Georges Méliès?
No surprise then that my first visual connection with Chandni Chowk started by chronicling its film district which led to my series FOUND FOOTAGE, a record of the last days of 35mm film, an age-old medium made redundant with the onset of all things digital. As an extension of FOUND FOOTAGE, STOP MOTION revels in cinematic Chandni Chowk in all its color and pomp and not just because this district has been the setting of many a film shoot, some of which I happened to enframe in my still camera.
If ever you want to experience the blurring lines between fact and fiction, head over to Moonlight Square (the Wikipedian translation of its name). And get ready for a very different kind of a trip to the moon with Monsieur Méliès smiling down upon you.
Nyay Bhushan 