Remembering Ashok Sodhi
Four decades ago, the concept of photojournalism was new to Jammu. Few photographers, including Afzal Shah, Chander Sunder and Raju Kerni were there in this profession. And that was the era of 1987-88, when Ashok Sodhi had begun to capture different terrestrial and extra-terrestrial events, varied human moods and sufferings, pathos and tragedies, regular and offbeat shots and would put all these frames efficiently before his readers.
From a humble beginning in the otherwise glamorous media, Ashok Sodhi rose to the post of Chief Photographer, with the dent of his hardwork and courage to take the challenges and work on new assignments. It was this very spirit in Ashok Sodhi that finally made him a martyr while on the job!
Those journalists, who belong to the era of pre-militancy and remained too close to Ashok Sodhi, must be aware of the fact that this photojournalist, whose pictures were speaking more than the words, was a multi-faceted personality. He started his career in journalism as a proofreader and before handling the camera, was reporting crime and even covering hospital beat.
Ashok Sodhi did not belong to the era of instant and modern digital photography. During those days, it used to be a labyrinth and arduous exercise to set the focal length and camera apertures and artfully play with light and shade. He would spend hours together in the dark room at Excelsior’s ground floor to develop and fix the prints before presenting the same to his Editor S D Rohmetra or Associate Editor O N Koul, who would later provide the best caption to make Sodhi’s pictures newsworthy. He did the same when Arun Sharma or Sanjeev Pargal were at times assigned the job to write a caption for his imaginative and professional pictures.
And when digital photography became the order of the day, Ashok Sodhi did not lag behind. He adapted the new technology to remain the front-runner in the race.
Capturing Kashmiri Pandits’ Sufferings
Ashok Sodhi was definitely a multi-faceted personality, an artist who performed for different local tale-serials besides taking part in various forms of nukkad shows. A man full of emotions, Sodhi would feel the pinch of the human sufferings. In 1990, when migration of Kashmiri Pandits was at peak, Sodhi would visit every camp to capture the human sufferings. He did it many a time when humanity was in distress. And on May 11, 2008 when he and seven others fell to the bullets of the militants at Samba, it was not in fact the first time that Ashok Sodhi had visited the encounter site. His former colleagues recall how he had earlier also covered half a dozen encounters including those at Vijaypur and Kaluchak and how Sodhi had gone too close into the danger zones in a bid to click the best available shot.
Working in the terror zone of Jammu and Kashmir, where encounters and blasts were the norm of the day, Sodhi, like other journalists, lived on the edge. Despite knowing that there was a thin line between life and death, he would always defy the gravity and rush into danger zones and would come out with a professional stuff. But one such act proved fatal for him!
Died for a Cause
Ashok Sodhi was amongst those journalists who did not believe in job-hopping. He was always ready to help young photographers and even reporters who were there to adopt this glamorous profession. During 25 years’ of his commitment towards journalism, Ashok Sodhi mentored a number of photojournalists in Jammu and was darling of every mediaman. His public relations were so strong that he would rarely miss an event and would even manage the pictures to the satisfaction of his colleagues and readers. His death has definitely left a void in the media space.
Excerpts of a Book Review of “History of Elephants in Jammu and Kashmir”, published in Daily Excelsior on January 30, 1971.
