Behind The Indian Veil
A Journey Through Weddings in India
SEPHI BERGERSON
Foreword by Princess Diya Kumari of Jaipur
An exquisite coffee table book on weddings in India and the astonishing stories behind them
Pre-order one or more copies of Behind the Indian Veil: A Journey Through Weddings in India book and be a part of this extraordinary visual journey through uncharted wedding traditions in India.
THE BOOK
Behind The Indian Veil chronicles award-winning photographer Sephi Bergerson’s extraordinary journey through uncharted wedding traditions in India. It reveals the differences and similarities in Indian wedding traditions, while seeking the common essence of this grand, colourful, fantastic celebration.
After living in India for more than 13 years, with almost seven of which spent working on this project, Sephi has arguably experienced, witnessed and documented a greater variety of Indian weddings than any other person on earth. As he traveled the length and breadth of India, he was invited into sacred places and intimate moments normally inaccessible to outsiders, witnessing traditions buried so deep in the subconscious of the subcontinent that even people from India dont necessarily know about them. This incredible array of stories he was able to capture reveals cultures, traditions, and legacies as complex and diverse as India herself.
Behind The Indian Veil features images and written stories from a vast assortment of Indian communities: Tamil Brahmin, Bengali, Sikh, Hindu Punjabi, Hyderabadi Muslim, Rajput, Kashmiri Pandit, Ladakhi Buddhist, Goan Catholic, Syrian Christian, Zoroastrian Parsi, Dawoodi Bhora, and Kodava Coorg.
The Author
Sephi Bergerson is an award-winning documentary and travel photographer with more than twenty-five years of professional experience. Before relocating to India with his family in early 2002, he was a commercial photographer in Israel where he established a successful commercial photography studio in Tel Aviv and served as president of the Professional Photographers Association from 2001 – 2002.
His first book, Street Food of India, co-published in the U.K and in Germany, received international acclaim, including the Best Cookbook Photography 2010 award in the UK, a nomination for Best in the World at the prestigious Gourmand Awards in Paris, and was mentioned in the New York Times list of ‘best cook books of the year (2010)’.
What it’s all about
The idea is to start a conversation. Why? Because it’s an intriguing conversation to have. What we do is one thing. How we do it is another. Wherever in the world we call home, we share rituals similar in intention but unique in their expression. Behind the Indian Veil reveals the differences and similarities in Indian wedding traditions, while seeking the common essence of this grand, colorful, fantastic celebration. And in doing so takes us on a journey that in one way or another resonates with us whether we’re Indian or not.
A Real Book
Despite all the changes of the digital age and in the publishing world, there is still no better medium for most artistic photography than a real book. I have published books before but I wish to take a more independent route this time, and self publish instead of going through a publishing house. However, independent publishing still unfortunately depends (and in that way not so “independent” as it appears to be) on funding.
A crowd funding campaign
This self publishing drive started with a crowd funding campaign on IndieGoGo. The purpose of this campaign was to raise enough funds to get into production of this book without the need of a main stream publisher. Somewhat like a musician who chooses to produce his now music album away from the record companies.
This campaign started on September 01 and closed on October 11, 2014 and raised $12,806 from 153 supporters. A very good start indeed. We are now in touch with several corporates to raise the rest of the funds. I am glad to say that we are ahead of schedule and moving ahead very nicely. We had a lot of media coverage and tremendous exposure to this unique initiative and you can see some of the media articles below.
The campaign is already closed but with the generous help of our sponsors, we have covered the entire cost of production and will be launching the book by the end of August 2015, a month before the original planed date.
The Journey
My six-year journey to define the essence of an Indian wedding has been collaborative from the beginning. While shooting a wedding in Madurai, a holy city in south India, a guest approached me and asked if I had ever experienced a Syrian Christian wedding… and would I like to come to Coimbatore right now to do so. I hopped on board and that first 133-mile trip snowballed into countless last minute tips and just as many spur-of-the-moment trips to get that one more shot.
All the support and interest has been astounding – I was welcomed into spaces I never expected to see in my life. At one point I got caught sneaking shots at a mosque during a mass wedding of 319 Dawoodi Bhora couples in Mumbai. I was brought before the Mullah but Instead of kicking me out as I expected, he welcomed me in and blessed me.
I know people feel my conviction and the importance of this book’s cultural representation. They appreciate my absolute dedication to capturing the essence of one of the most important days of their lives. I feel their respect and gratitude towards me for taking the time, as a foreigner, to learn so much about their culture and care so deeply about their lives.
I end this amazing six-year journey with more than 50,000 photos and experiences my imagination could never have pictured. I begin a new one by stepping into self-publishing these poignant and provocative stories, paying tribute to the couples and their loved ones, and enabling future generations to witness the history that brought them to this present.
A Journey Through
Weddings in India
Some Frequently Asked Questions
Which Indian wedding traditions are featured in the book?
Over the last six years, in the course of working on this book, Sephi has arguably witnessed and documented a larger variety of Indian weddings than any other person on earth. Traveling the length and breath of India, he set out to find the differences and similarities between the traditions of weddings in India while trying to find a single thread that will help define the essence of this grand, colorful and fantastic celebration. The result is a stunning visual exploration of the definition of an Indian wedding from a traditional and cultural point of view.
The book features weddings from a vast array of Indian communities: Tamil Brahmin, Bengali and Sikh, Hindu Punjabi, Hyderabadi Muslim and Rajput; Kashmiri Pandit, Ladakhi Buddhist and Goan Catholic; Syrian Christian and Zoroastrian Parsi. It also has photographs from a mass wedding of the Dawoodi Bhora community in Mumbai and a Kodava Coorg celebration.
Who is the book designer?
The book is designed by renowned award winning graphic designer Tania Das Gupta who had also designed all of the late photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta’s books, among many others.
How many pages will the book have?
The book will be available in high resolution PDF form and as high quality 9.25″x13″ offset print hard cover coffee table album. The number of pages is 136 pages with 108 images. A limited special casebound collector edition will also be available.
What will be the cost of the book?
The retail cost of the book is $50 or ₹ 2,999. Other options for signed and numbered limited edition are also available.
When is the deadline for the book release?
The book will be launched in India at the end of August 2015.
I heard you ran a crowd funding campaign. What was that about?
The IndieGoGo crowd funding campaign ran from September 2 to October 12, 2014 and raised $12,806 of the total amount needed for this production. This campaign is now closed as it was limited for 40 days. Take a moment to check it out http://igg.me/at/behind-the-indian-veil
How can I support the project?
This is a self publishing drive and we welcome individual as well as corporate sponsorship for the book. Despite the fact that the IndieGoGo campaign is closed you can still support this project. There are many options to pre-order one or more copies of the book. Please have a look at the various options and perks, make a contribution, or simply follow updates.
How can I contact you?
If you have any questions about the book please contact us at office@sephi.com or call Joel on +91 91585 09944 during office hours.
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