After Fanushi-4.0, Calcutta Instagrammers united to hold another
exciting event — India Pictures: Global Meet 2.0 organised by the India
Pictures, Zostel and Creative Image Magazine. This is an event where anybody
with an urge to capture their surroundings can take part. The pictures are then
uploaded on Instagram with the event hastags.

The city witnessed one such photowalk on 6  November which was held across 25 cities of
the country. The founder of Calcutta Instagrammers, Sammya Brata Mullick was
the curator of the photowalk. The walk criss-crossed through the lanes of North
Kolkata beginning from Beadon Street and covered parts of Goa Bagan.
Red-bricked houses, the old lanes and the happy faces of the people had it all.
The cold November winds, the tea stalls preparing a hot cup of tea, children
overjoyed with their on-going football match and everything was beautifully in
sync with the theme “Street Photography”, which captured the textures of the
place. More than 150 photo-enthusiasts of Kolkata were a part of this.

“The second year for the India Pictures Global Meet-
Calcutta Chapter received an overwhelming response. During the walk, people
were given an hour to shoot photographs using their mobile phones/DSLRs and
upload them on Instagram using the pre-decided hashtags to qualify for the
contest. The theme was ‘Street Photography’ and people got a chance to capture
the rich patterns and textures of North Calcutta, most importantly to weave
stories through their frames. The photography enthusiasts covered in and around
Beadon Street, Goa Bagan area, Girish Park and North Calcutta,” said Sammya
Brata, founder, Calcutta Instagrammers.

There has been an incredible rise in the number of
photo-enthusiasts being a part of this endeavour. The on-spot mobile
photography contest with the hastags ip meet 2 and ip zostel witnessed a huge
number of entries out of which two were selected as the winners. Uber, one of
the prime sponsors of the event is holding yet another contest as a part of
this project, the theme of which is “view from my uber”, and the winner gets 20
uber rides free.

However, the grand prize remains the main attraction. The
winner stands a chance to meet the renowned photographer, Padmashree Shree
Raghu Rai and receives a DSLR as a winning prize. This all-India contest has
got more than 17,000 uploads from across the country within just a span of 24
hours, while more than 270 entries are from Calcutta within the same period of
time. With the current generation pouring their hearts out on social media,
this is quite a unique way to explore one’s one city in ways never seen before.