PORTRAITS OF A SULTAN

‘Portraits of a Sultan’ is a visual retrospective celebrating 100 years of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, the eminent Malayalam writer. This selection of rare black & white photographs features Basheer in his everyday ambience, with his family and contemporaries.

Chosen from the collection of Sri Punaloor Rajan, these vintage photographs present the ‘Sultan of Beypore’, as Basheer is often remembered. Closely associated with Basheer for over 35 years, Punaloor Rajan’s photographs are a powerful record of Basheer’s intriguing life.

Punaloor Rajan was trained in cinematography at the State Institute of Cinematography in the Soviet Union and was awarded the Soviet Land Nehru Award in 1983.

“Basheer is a synonym for humanitarianism. It is only the human being who is capable of authoritatively understanding or loving this world. Basheer was our prophet of humanitarianism.” - Punaloor Rajan

‘Portraits of a Sultan’ has been curated by Perch.

Back