Tehelka has brought out a special issue–”What’s Right About India” (I cannot now remember whether there’s a question-mark at the end of that phrase or not). Among the contributors is a group of Indian photographers. I liked Dinesh Khanna’s photographs above. And Khanna’s wonderful caption: “This diptych reflects India positive: the existence of contrasts and our ability to handle them. Two men from the same milieu and different. They could well be the same person. Now at ease in a lungi and minutes later, dressed up like a dude!” Unlike other photographers, some of whom are included in the Tehelka portfolio, Khanna is not merely interested in making beautiful images. Khanna’s pictures demand a certain amount of intellectual work, and his caption is an example of the work that the photographer is himself doing. The image doesn’t stand alone–there is a conversation between the two parts–and the viewer is pulled away from the familiar routine of simply admiring compositional unity and tones in a single, stunning image. There is a critical refashioning here, and style, and these too are a part of the search for our own modernity. Thank you, Dinesh Khanna!