Nehru's romance with Kashmir

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Jammu, Feb 11 (UNI) India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru had a special romance with the Jammu and Kashmir and a rare exhibition of his photos has only underscored this point.

A special and rare exhibition photos Pt Nehru is going on in the Jammu University's campus. The exhibit is titled 'Nehru in Kashmir' and is based on the works of Veteran photographer Sati Sahni who has represented several national as well as international media organisation in his six decades of grass-root experience.

Mr Sahni's exhibition is spread over a period of 18 years, a period in which Pt Nehru visited the state extensively. The value of the work can be gauged from the fact that the Times Magazine had once offered thousands of dollars to Mr Sahni for his photographs of Pt Nehru. But the veteran photographer declined the officer and instead he gifted the rare piece of creativity to the university so that the rare treasure remains within the country for the next generation.

Photos taken by Mr Sahni capture Pt Nehru's multi faceted personality and his romance with Kashmir's enchanting beauty.

A photo shows Pt Nehru in his Swimming trunks in Nageen Lake on September 4, 1950, while in others he is surf boarding and horse riding.

There is also a rare photo of Pt Nehru with his friend Lady Edwina Mountbatten in March 1949, at Chashmashahi Guest House as he is explaining the breathtaking beauty of Dal Lake from a vantage position.

Pt Nehru as a diplomat is depicted in his photo with a member of the United Nation Commission for Indian and Pakistan during the full bloom of spring under the shadow of Chinar tree.

Not only the range of rare photos of Pt Nehru is impressive but also the clarity of the photos. For instance the photo of Pt Nehru throwing pebbles into Sindh stream at Sonamarg depict the pensive mood of the great leader but at the same time capture the grandeur and enchanting beauty of the place.

Mr Sahni says,''it was always an intellectual treat to capture one of the greatest Indians ever born. The uniqueness in capturing Pt Nehru lay in the fact that he was a magnetic personality and had so many shades to his personality.'' He adds that he was allowed access to Pt Nehru's private life on the promise that no photograph would be published without Pt Nehru's own permission, a promise he kept for four decades after the great leader died on 27th May, 1964 at the age of 74.

Jammu University Vice Chancellor Prof Amitabh Mattoo terms the collection of photos as a rare national treasure which is to be preserved for the generations to come.