A Photographer’s Queer Eye for Akhara Guys

Out Calcutta based photographer Bishan Samaddar shares with Queerty the story behind his images of men practicing the art of desi wrestling and bodybuilding at two akharas in Varansi. The 35 year old photographer responds to questions about the homoeroticism in his visual approach: “I think the homoeroticism is primarily in the eyes of the beholder (including the photographer, of course). The men photographed here are very aware of their bodies and entirely comfortable with them, not in an ostentatiously self-conscious way that a lot of gym freaks are. They’re comfortable with one another, and with strangers (like me) admiring them.”