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Homai Vyarawalla
India’s First Woman Photojournalist
Speaker
2006 | 71 minutes | English
Homai Vyarawalla was born in 1913 into a priestly family in Navsari, Gujarat. She was the first woman photojournalist in the country. Beginning her career as a photographer with the Bombay Chronicle and later the Far Eastern Bureau of the British Information Services, she soon came to be known for her compelling photographic images taken both before and after independence.
She has a rare collection of interesting photographs of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Radhakrishnan and Mahatma Gandhi. She worked as a freelancer for SPAN, Life and many international publications and finally gave up photography in 1970. She was married to Maneckshaw Vyarawalla who was himself a photographer.
SPARROW Documentary presents Homai Vyarawalla, a film that delves into the life of India’s first woman photojournalist. The documentary showcases her life and work, featuring a conversation with filmmaker Sabeena Gadihoke at her home in Baroda, where she recollects her childhood days, education, and photojournalism career.
With a career spanning several decades, Homai Vyarawalla captured pivotal events and figures during the Indian independence movement and beyond. She retired in 1970 and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2011, a year before her passing on January 15, 2012. This documentary highlights her trailblazing role in a male-dominated field, featuring her remarkable photographs that document historic moments in India.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with C S Lakshmi.
In collaboration with:
Speaker
C S Lakshmi
Dr C S Lakshmi has been an independent researcher in Women’s Studies for the last more than forty years. She has a Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She writes under the pseudonym Ambai in Tamil about love, relationships, quests and journeys and her short story collections have been published in Tamil and also translated into English. She was given the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2021 for her book Sivappuk Kazhuththudan Oru Pachaip Paravai. She is currently the Director of SPARROW (Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women).
