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INDIAN photographers achieved a strong showing at the Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024, the world’s leading celebration of food photography and film. From the thousands of entries submitted from over 65 countries across the world, a total of 15 finalist images were from India.
Kishore Das won the The Philip Harben Award for Food in Action category with ‘Rice Grain Threshing’. The image captures a woman engaging in the practice of threshing rice grains as sunlight filters through. Das was also Highly Commended in the World Food Programme Food for Life category with an image of a family sharing a meal whilst living on the streets of Kolkata.
Debdatta Chakraborty won the Pink Lady® Moments of Joy category with a heartwarming image, ‘Breakfast with the Brokpas.’ The Brokpas, a small group found in the union territory of Ladakh, have a diet based on locally grown barley and wheat, and Gur-Gur Cha, a brewed tea. Chakraborty was also Highly Commended in The Philip Harben Award for Food in Action category for his image ‘Tea Tales of Terai’.
Other finalists from India included Konark Basu, Gurudas Bate, Arun Saha, Kainaat Arif, Indigo Larmour, Udayan Sankar Pal, Mohammed Rimon, Haider Khan, Sanghamitra Sarkar, Udayan Sankar Pal and Saurabh Sirohiya.
A haunting image, Red Bean Paste Balls, by Chinese photographer Zhonghua Yang, won the overall prize. Yang’s image had previously won in the Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration category as well.
This year’s global judging panel was chaired by legendary food photographer David Loftus, and included Chef’s Table presenter Asma Khan, Guardian News & Media’s head of photography Fiona Shields, chef Ian Kittichai and cookbook author Nik Sharma.
Here’s a look at the Indian finalists’ images.
Kulasai Dasara by Udayan Sankar Pal | Kulasai Dasara is an annual festival that takes place in October in Tamil Nadu. Photo © Udayan Sankar Pal and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Harnai Beach by Udayan Sankar Pal | An everyday morning scene at Harnai Beach in Maharashtra. Photo © Udayan Sankar Pal and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Roth Worship by Mohammed Rimon | About 725 years ago in Sylhet, Hindu worshippers celebrated Roth. Today, the Manipuri community in Sylhet, Bangladesh, honours it uniquely. In their rendition, devotees gather to pray not just for themselves but also for the joy and prosperity of all humanity. This image captures their inclusive spirit. Photo © Mohammed Rimon and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Traditional Dinner of a Shepherd Family by Konark Basu | A shepherd family having dinner at the Pushkar Fair in Rajasthan. Photo © Konark Basu and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Queen Dress by Gurudas Bate | Taken at Harne, Dapoli Beach, Maharashtra. Fishermen dry their catch at this beach which is quite popular with visitors. One takes a selfie, with the drying fish creating an illusion of a gown. Photo © Gurudas Bate and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Breakfast with the Brokpas by Debdatta Chakraborty | The Brokpas are a small ethnic group mostly found in the union territory of Ladakh. The Brokpas traditionally claim themselves to be descendants of Alexander's lost army. The Brokpa diet is based on locally grown barley and wheat, prepared most often as tsampa (roasted flour) and Gur-Gur Cha, a brewed tea made of black tea, butter and salt. Photo © Debdatta Chakraborty and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Tea Tales of Terai by Debdatta Chakraborty | Terai tea gardens refers to the tea gardens in the Dooars and Terai regions in the Jalpaiguri Division of West Bengal, India. In 1859, a young Scottish merchant, Walter Duncan, started tea plantations in the region and since then, this area alone produces a quarter of the total tea produced by India. Photo © Debdatta Chakraborty and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Black Fish by Haider Khan | Cargo ships dumping oil into the sea go unpunished. Photo © Haider Khan and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Tea Stall At Varanasi Street by Arun Saha | Varanasi’s street food areas are a must-visit for anyone who travels here. The best among them are the tea stalls, brilliant for both sipping and spectating. Photo © Arun Saha and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Morning Work by Sanghamitra Sarkar | Fishermen of Inle Lake prepare for a day’s work in their boats in the early morning. Photo © Sanghamitra Sarkar and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Rice Grain Threshing by Kishore Das | As the sun gracefully descends on the horizon, casting a warm and magical golden glow, a tribal lady engages in the ancient practice of threshing rice grains in the courtyard of her home with rhythmic movements, by skillfully tossing the harvested rice into the air. Photo © Kishore Das and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Sharing is Caring by Kishore Das | Amidst the bustling streets of Kolkata, a family living on the footpath shares a meal with love. Two women serve food to others, while inside a modest room, another couple partakes of a meal, echoing the sentiment that sharing is caring. Photo © Kishore Das and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Breaking Fast Together with Milkshake by Saurabh Sirohiya | A diverse crowd has gathered around a magnificent fountain as they break their fasts with a refreshing milkshake for iftar at the iconic Nakhoda Masjid in Kolkata, during Ramzan. Photo © Saurabh Sirohiya and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Fruits of Labour by Kainaat Arif | In a village in northern India, a girl toils to help her family on their farmland. Photo © Kainaat Arif and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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Steaming Milk Cake by Indigo Larmour | Among the many winding streets of Jodhpur, was an alley lined with shops making milk cake. The process of cooking milk cake begins in the early hours allowing time for it to set. As the vendors stirred their pots of milk, steam arose making for extremely atmospheric photographs. Photo © Indigo Larmour and Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
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