It is the centenary commemoration of Belgaum Congress which was held in 1924. This important turning point in the India’s political history was also one of the earliest photo journalistic work of Narayan Rao Kulkarni, Bijapur. He went on to establish a studio in the dusty historic town of Bijapur.

Narayan Rao Kulkarni‘s forayed in to the world of photography thanks to a camera gifted by his eldest sibling. Being a school dropout, he was given a camera to make a living out of it but he ended up becoming a professional and political photographer who documented India’s pre to post independence transition era. Photo archives and other collection span roughly between the years 1920 – 1970. The archival work which is being undertaken has rare photographs and negatives of the Belgaum congress. A few of the famous photos of the event which are in the public domain seem to be clicked by him but unfortunately he or any other photographer is never cited or acknowledged.

Archiving and preserving history is not undertaken seriously in our and many countries. Many photographers of that era have remained largely unknown. We hope to bring to light his extraordinary works in the coming years.