About Book
Redeeming Calcutta: A Portrait of India's Imperial Capital takes a fresh look at one of Asia's great cities, a metropolis of hope and decay that was once the Second City of the British Empire after London. In this storied colonial metropolis, National Geographic photographer and educator Steve Raymer discovers a city of high culture, leftist politics, and ambitions to reclaim its past grandeur. With around 200 photographs, including historic black-and-white images, the book takes us through the streets, ghats, and corridors of Calcutta to capture the imperial/historical city, the city in motion, commerce and business, the practice of faith, the country's cultural hub, and politics. Raymer's compelling photographs, coupled with a timely and detailed text, paint an inclusive and nuanced portrait of Calcutta, a city long neglected by Western journalists except for its poverty and sorrow. The volume also includes a Foreword by acclaimed historian, Dipesh Chakrabarty.
About Author
Steve Raymer, photojournalist, educator, and author, teaches visual journalism, media ethics, international newsgathering, and war correspondence at Indiana University in Bloomington. Raymer was a National Geographic Magazine staff photographer for 24 years, reporting on the global hunger crisis, the humanitarian work of the International Red Cross in war zones across the world, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Dipesh Chakrabarty is currently Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor, Department of History, The University of Chicago.