The soul of a city

Set in the 1970s and 1980s, Pablo Bartholomew’s pictures of Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta trigger an unsettling experience of simultaneous joy and sorrow.

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A bird in my room, Bombay, 1979.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Churning sea, Bombay, 1979 .

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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The C Power Station, Ring Road, New Delhi, 1977.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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A black and yellow taxi in Bombay, 1974.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Two girls on a Bombay Street, 1978.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Building, Bombay, 1978.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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My bathoom shelf, New Delhi, 1974.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Katey and Naseer, Bombay, 1977.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Rubber gloves hanging in my verandah, New Delhi, 1978.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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A kitchen, New Delhi, 1974.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Boatmen with horse, Bombay, 1979.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Medha knitting, Delhi, 1974.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Pooh in bed, Bombay, 1975.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Receptionist at OBM office, 1977, Calcutta.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Hanging out with the Maharani Bagh gang, New Delhi, 1976.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Nommie dancing at a party at Koko's, New Delhi, 1975.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Yusuf, New Delhi, 1973.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Band playing at the St. Stephen's College winter festival, 1974.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Chander with guitar, Delhi, 1975.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Somewhere on the Bombay-Poona highway, 1974.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Fan and glass, Bombay, 1979.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Nizamuddin gang hanging out at Ruhan's pad, New Delhi, 1978.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Nariman Point, Bombay, 1978.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Sunder with Pablo Jr, Calcutta, 1978.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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Hanging out at Sunder and Ammu's with Poli, Sheena, Jai and the kids, Calcutta, 1976.

Photo: Pablo Bartholomew/Netphotograph

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