Mumbai doctor celebrates slice of life with surgical accuracy

Born in Ujjain, and brought up in Dhobi Talao, Dr Baxi is a second-generation doctor from his family to serve at Bombay Hospital. After his MBBS from Nasik, and MD from Wardha, he worked at Nair Hospital, followed by Christian Medical College, Vellore, for two years on a research fellowship before taking up his Singapore stint

MUMBAI

His photo of a same-sex couple on the Marine Drive promenade looking into an uncertain future was picked up by the BBC to accompany the reportage on the Supreme Court ruling. (Dr Rahul Baxi)

“You take good photographs, which camera do you use = You write good poetry, which pen do you use,” he posted in jest on X, in response to an oft-asked question. A doctor by training, and a natural at capturing life around him, Dr Rahul Baxi, a diabetologist, will open his first solo exhibition of photographs, ‘Unseen Mumbai’, at the Jehangir Art Gallery next week.

Shot on his iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 13 Pro Max, the exhibition will feature 45 of his selected photographs offering glimpses of how he has chronicled Mumbai. A hobby that started developing during his six-year stint in Singapore, photography has now become his creative passion which he says, rejuvenates him, after a hectic day of work.

Born in Ujjain, and brought up in Dhobi Talao, Dr Baxi is a second-generation doctor from his family to serve at Bombay Hospital. After his MBBS from Nasik, and MD from Wardha, he worked at Nair Hospital, followed by Christian Medical College, Vellore, for two years on a research fellowship before taking up his Singapore stint.

“While doctors are not known to have time, in Singapore, I was on call between 8am and 5pm, which gave me the time to stroll around. I had moved from a Nokia to iPhone, and that’s when the passion for photography started,” Dr Baxi recalled.

He trained his lens on Singapore’s beautiful architecture, its urban landscape and parts of the city during walks with his family and post them on Facebook and Instagram. “People started liking my photos, and I got some followers. Looking at them, Tigerair, which started a new flight from Singapore to Guangzhou, China, decided to fly 10 Instagrammers to China; I was one of them. We were taken to Shaolin, the martial arts city, and I was only too happy to take pictures and post them,” he says.

Similarly, the Nature channel in Indonesia selected him for a trip to a rehabilitation centre for orangutans in Borneo. “It was very interesting. Orangutans are kidnapped and smuggled when they are babies due to the demand in the pet and circus industry. They are taken away from their mothers even before they can learn how to climb a tree and pluck a fruit. So when they are fully grown, they become difficult to control and are sent to this school for orangutans where they teach them how to climb a tree, pluck and open a fruit before releasing them back in the wild. It was a fascinating trip when I got to photograph all that,” says the 43-year-old.

Looking at the composition of his son’s photo shot in Singapore, Apple commissioned him to shoot with iPhone 14 Max when it was launched. “I have a DSLR camera, but I prefer shooting with my iPhone. I love capturing moments that are unique. Marine Drive, where I lived for four years, and Horniman Circle are my favourite haunts,” says the good doctor, who also counts several celebrities and VIPs among his patients.

Some of the stunning frames he has captured are Mumbai monsoons, while “travelling on the Chembur-Wadala Mono Rail” when he came across a large number of buses parked in a place with vegetation growing on them. “On a stroll along the Gateway of India I suddenly saw a number of birds perched on the surface of water in perfect symmetry; I shot the picture. Where will you get to see that again?

Dr Baxi also enjoys interacting on social. When people saw his picture of Bandra station, they thought it was photoshopped, for the absence of people in the frame. “But I don’t use photoshop at all. I shot the photo after midnight to capture the beauty of the restored station. I relish the natural colours and compositions I capture,” he says.

His photo of a same-sex couple on the Marine Drive promenade looking into an uncertain future was picked up by the BBC to accompany the reportage on the Supreme Court ruling. “I was told later that it was one of the most read stories on their website and the reporter thanked me for the photo that told the story,” he says.

(‘Unseen Mumbai’ will open at the Terrace Gallery at Jehangir Art Gallery on November 23)