For Jammu-born photographer Saadiya Kochar, it was a personal tragedy that took her to the Valley a few years back. A state of mind that was congruent to the conflict of the region. “I was very disturbed when I went to Kashmir. To begin with, it was all at a distance because I didn’t want to ‘see’ anything, just take photos. Later it got more personal as I began to get involved with the place,” says the 30-year-old Delhi-based photographer who is bringing out a year’s work on the region through two books. One of these, she says, is: “A melting pot of craftsmen and colour from the region, written like a travel guide from a feminine perspective.” The other, in black and white, is more in-your-face.
Educated at the Triveni Kala Sangam and the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kochar’s works include a series of nudes in 2003 and a group show on Sufism in 2006.