Weddings fascinate Mohit Vijh like nothing else. Ever since childhood, he has been an active part of the planning process of the weddings of friends and family. A conversation with his household help, whose two grand-daughters were marrying into the same family on the same day, inspired his intrigue, and he offered to be their wedding photographer. And so was born ‘Wedding Affair’, shot in Lachi Nagariya, a village near Agra city.
“The experience was surreal. A simple yet warm celebration of two young girls, aged 16 and 17, entering a new phase of life is an interesting observation that ironically orthodox mindsets in the villages remain unaffected by the fast-changing times.”
He has an inconsistent collection of images, which range from typical wedding-album family shots to voyeuristic, shaky frames with unusual subjects. Some are staged, some are spontaneous. A child in a floral white dress asleep on a shamiana rug; one sister in a petticoat and blouse waiting for her turn to be made up; an overcrowded auto filled with guests. These offer an interesting perspective and communicate the more silent moments of a quintessential Indian Wedding.
His album is also striking for its utter disregard for a standard colour scheme: some pictures are in monochrome, while others are in vivid, oversaturated colours. When asked, his short response is “Sometimes when I capture stills, the picture itself demands an instinctive monochrome feel in my mind and therefore I do it that way.”
“Marriages in Indian villages might not be the typical ‘Big Fat Indian Weddings’ , but the families tying the knot make sure that they leave no stone unturned to make it a once in a lifetime affair for the bride and the groom.”
To see the rest of his album, visit his Behance page and Facebook