Portraits of Care: Revisiting Sanjeev Saith’s Happy Goodnight

In March 2020—when the virus that initially seemed distant turned into a global pandemic—the world, almost simultaneously, went into a lockdown. As we stayed indoors battling the uncertainty of this situation, new words entered into our everyday vocabulary while some old words, such as “care," gained renewed importance.

Under these circumstances, I revisited Sanjeev Saith’s book Happy Goodnight (2019). Encased in a modest cardboard box, with the title handwritten on top, the back of the box reads, “The time came when my ageing parents began to need me at hand, and I put away my cameras. A few years later one evening, dinner was over, we were listening to music, and I felt like taking a picture.” The photographer’s urge manifests in a series of colour photographs—shot on a mobile phone—appearing in an accordion fold that fits into the box. In contrast to the life of distance and isolation we are living in, these photographs are an intimate portrait of a caregiver and his ageing parents.

The title of the book comes from Saith’s mother’s nightly greeting to his father, another reminder of how close we are as viewers to Saith’s world. An indication of the seemingly unrelenting routine of caregiving is felt in the repetition of spaces and actions present in these images, which are reinforced through the form of the book. Through close-ups of hands, clothing and faces we are witness to a deep vulnerability, which is likely why Saith never thought he would exhibit this work. Thus, as much as a treasured family album, the book remains a keeper of personal memories.

 

Upon the release of Saith’s 2019 book, A Negative Year, it was noted that one is likely to find very little about Saith or his photography on the internet. The book was published after a long hiatus from photography—the period when Saith was looking after his parents. A man of many talents—editor, writer, publisher, flautist and even a mountaineer—Saith has only been a photographer when the time has called for it. He described the years between 1992 and 1993, covered in A Negative Year through a series of colour photographs shot on film, as a moment when he saw “…a terrible beauty all around (me).” So, it is only in such moments—when he has “…felt like taking a picture”—that Saith has gravitated towards the camera, producing remarkable yet unassuming portraits. Happy Goodnight visibly comes out of one such moment.

All images from the book Happy Goodnight by Sanjeev Saith. Photographed by Anu Davis and Ahmad Shaqlain for Offset Projects.