Nov 20 2026 to Nov 20 2026 6 p.m.

Book/Buy

Where

Museum of Art & Photography (MAP)

Kasturba Road, Bengaluru 560001

Event Description

Join photo-journalist, Prashant Panjiar and writer Valay Singh for a moderated conversation on the launch of the latest photo book, ‘Ayodhya: Epicentre of a Divide‘.

The book covers nearly four decades of Ayodhya: its ghats and akharas, Sufi shrines and Hanuman temples, barricades and barbed wire, and the laser shows and hoardings of the new temple town. With an essay by Valay Singh on how Ram was turned into a political symbol, this book is a rare long view of a fabled town that became the epicentre of a campaign to reshape India.

Prashant Panjiar
Speaker

Prashant Panjiar, a self-taught photographer, worked full-time as a photojournalist and editor in mainstream media from 1984 to 2001. Since then he has been working independently as a photographer specializing in reportage, editorial and documentary photography, a photo editor and curator. Panjiar has led the curatorial team of all 3 editions of the Delhi Photo Festival of which he is the co-founder and co-Creative Director. He is also the co-founder of Nazar Foundation that promotes lens-based art, and Goa Open Arts, that conducts a multi-disciplinary arts festival and & grants for artists in Goa. His more recent books are “Amongst the Believers – The Kumbh Mela at Prayag” (published by Arthshila Trusts, 2024), “Indianisms’ (self-published 2023) and ‘That Which Is Unseen” (published by Navajivan Trust, 2021). In 2014 as Creative Director he curated, and helped conceive the first edition of

Sensorium a festival of Arts, Literature & Ideas for Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for the Arts. In 2015 he curated a permanent collection of contemporary photography for the new corporate building of Star TV India in Mumbai. He was the project curator for Kanu’s Gandhi, the third title in the Nazar Photography Monographs series, and of the resulting exhibition. He was also the photography curator for three editions of the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa, in 2016, 2017 and 2026. Panjiar has served on the jury of the World Press Photo Awards, Pictures of the Year (international), the China International Press Photo Competition, Indian Express Press Photo Awards and the National Foundation of India’s annual photography fellowship. Being one of India’s leading photo-practitioners, Panjiar is actively involved in mentoring younger photographers. Panjiar’s work can be viewed at www.prashantpanjiar.com

Valay Singh
Speaker

Valay Singh is a writer, researcher, and public policy professional whose work focuses on the intersections of politics, history, identity, faith, and contemporary India. He is the author of Ayodhya: City of Faith, City of Discord (Aleph Book Company, 2019), an acclaimed exploration of the histories, narratives, and political transformations that have shaped one of India’s most contested cities. Drawing on reportage, history, philology and cultural analysis, his writing examines how questions of religion, belonging, and power influence public life. His forthcoming book on Benaras continues his exploration of layered histories of Indian cities.