I wanted to document India, to look at the transitory stage we are at. The country never really went through the industrial revolution, so there are these huge gaps we just adapt to. We have the best mobile phone companies but no roads. We have a metro but no proper traffic lights.
I was living in a village in Goa when I took this. It was the monsoon season, very tropical. That rain – wow! I would just drive around in a small car, go into people’s houses, and ask to take pictures of them. I’d shoot them combing their hair or cooking their food. We would speak a mixture of Hindi and Marathi. That part of Goa got its independence much later, so it’s got a strong Portuguese influence. There’s a church every kilometre.
One day, I went up through the forest behind my house and I saw these guys cutting some wood. There were three or four of them and this man looked really interesting. I don’t think he was from that part of India: he doesn’t have that traditional south Indian look. Also, I didn’t understand his language, so we had a very strange communication, talking through other people.
Then I saw this eagle. Actually, I’m not sure what kind of bird it is. I just like to say eagle. He seemed to have total control over her. After I’d taken a few pictures, he said: “I’ll make her do anything you want.” And he’d make the bird fly in and land right next to him. He’d hold it in his hand then let it fly off – or it would land on his shoulder and walk all around his head.
I couldn’t believe it. Photographing animals is usually rather difficult. They just keep moving and won’t follow instructions. But I managed to capture man and bird perfectly in three-quarter profile – although sometimes her beak was so close to his eye that, truly, I was scared.
Two years later, I was on an assignment and everything I had got caught in a fire. I lost the lot – my equipment, my negatives, all of it burned. A few scans and exhibition plates were all I had left – and this image was among them. The annoying thing is that I can’t go back through the negatives and see what I shot on either side of this image, so I can’t find out if I caught any of his amazing tricks. It’s just there all alone, that one moment.
- Reimagine, by Bharat Sikka and Olivia Arthur, is at the Brighton Photo Biennale, until 30 October.
Bharat Sikka’s CV
Born: Tamil Nadu, India, 1973.
Studied: Parsons School of Design, New York.
Influences: Edward Hopper.
High point: “I feel like I’m still getting there but I loved my final year of school in New York.”
Top tip: “Go out and take pictures of whatever you want – don’t worry what people think.”
