Forty Seven

Colophon

47
Vasant Nayak

First edition published in April 2023

Art direction and production: CC by CC
(Cécile Poimbœuf-Koizumi)

Printed in Italy ISBN: 978-1-7376733-5-4

For the photographs © Vasant Nayak, 1985-2021
For this edition © Monsoon Dream Books, 2023

Monsoon Dream Books
11 Cool Spring Court
Lutherville, MD 21093

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Cécile Poimbœuf-Koizumi who was indispensable in bringing this book to fruition. She is credited with the image selection, sequencing, book concept and design. She was my advisor and partner in this endeavor.

18cm x 20cm | 160 Pages | 54 images | 80 Text
300 Units | Offset

Text/letters inside the French fold.

About

In the 1980s, I spent a few weeks each summer at my parents' home near Udupi, Karnataka, in India. My father & I could not really leave the house for any great length of time, as my mother needed constant care. It was always a conflict – to leave my mother by herself or to go out and photograph. My father would drive me mostly in the evenings in his old, light blue Ambassador car, as far away as we could manage, provided we could return within a couple of hours. We rarely talked while on those drives.

During periods when I was away, my father frequently wrote me letters. Though we spoke Konkani at home, his letters were in English. These letters helped me stay connected to the place and the people. Reading the letters while printing and editing the images I made there left/kept me feeling like I never left home. I got to know my father more deeply through the letters he wrote to me than from any conversations we ever had, or never had. I think he felt more comfortable veiled behind this asynchronous communication.

Included here are few of the images I made over those summers. These - and all other negatives and transparencies shot prior to 1987 - were lost in a UPS shipment to NYC from Baltimore.

~ January 16, 2023. Jaipur, India.

Video