When Ramesh Shukla was 26, his friends invited him to Dubai as they were impressed by his skills as a photographer. He boarded a ship from Mumbai to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and reached the desert with nothing but a dollar in his pocket.
It is often said that passion knows no bounds despite there being a difference in age, boundaries, or money. If you’re passionate about something, it will already feel like such an ingrained part of your life and the same thing happened with this photographer that we are talking about today. Ramesh Shukla has lived in the UAE for the best part of five decades, his only passion being photography.
Born in Ahmedabad, India, in 1938, Ramesh Shukla started to develop a fixation with photography at a young age. It only increased when, at the age of 14, his father gifted him a Rolleicord camera on his birthday.
When Ramesh Shukla was 26, his friends invited him to Dubai as they were impressed by his skills as a photographer. He boarded a ship from Mumbai to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and reached the desert with nothing but a dollar in his pocket.
At the time, the former Trucial States (now UAE) were just witnessing independence from Britain and venturing on a memorable journey of nation-building.
Ramesh Shukla's big break in photography first came when he attended a camel race in Sharjah in 1968. The sheikhs from the various emirates were attending this event, which is when Ramesh Shukla clicked a photo of the group.
Among these men was also Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late emir of Abu Dhabi. When Ramesh Shukla presented him with the photo the next day, the 'founding father' of the UAE told him, "You are Fannan (meaning “artist” in Arabic)."
This meeting changed Ramesh Shukla's life as after the camel race, he started getting invited to official events as a photographer, capturing moments that only a few people were lucky to witness.
Ramesh Shukla soon became friends with the royals. The ruler of Dubai, till his death in 1990, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum also invited him to stay in the country. There in 1970, Ramesh Shukla's wife and son joined him in Dubai, which became their home.
"Without my family, my wife and son, I couldn’t do anything," Ramesh Shukla told CNN.
Life was smooth sailing for Ramesh Shukla thereon, who found his calling in photography. He also became part of a historic moment on December 2, 1971, when he attended the signing of the unification agreement that saw six of the emirates — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm Al-Qaywayn, Fujairah, and Ajman — come together as one - the United Arab Emirates.
(Ras Al-Khaimah joined as the seventh emirate in February 1972)
Ramesh Shukla, in this event, took a photo of Sheikh Zayed signing the unification declaration. This photo is now used on the new 50 dirham note, printed in 2021 to commemorate the nation’s 50th anniversary. Ramesh Shukla is responsible for capturing the journey of Dubai and the Emirates through the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. Some of the films are still under development.
Ramesh Shukla, now in his 80s, is making sure to keep his legacy alive along with his son Neel. The father and son duo have set up a darkroom lab to teach the next generation of photographers. The year-long masterclass course is free through Dubai Culture, a government organisation. It will start in September this year for 10 students.
"They’ll graduate under my father’s mentorship, and they will have that standing from (being taught by) the Founding Fathers’ photographer," CNN quoted his son Neel as saying.
Over the years, Ramesh Shukla has left a lasting impact on the profession of photography. His skills have been compiled into books and showcased in exhibitions, especially because they are the living proof of the formation of a country.
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