Benu Sen, eldest Son of Manindranath Sengupta and Prabhatidevi, Founder-Member and Third President of Photographic Association of Dumdum (PAD), Former Secretary General of Federation of Indian Photography, Vice President and Founder-Member of India International Photographic Council, Kolkata. Vice President of the Club Coordination Center and Head of the Photography Department of the Indian Museum was born on 26 May 1932 at his maternal uncle's house in Bagbazar.
In 1957, Shri Benu Sen, along with a few like-minded friends founded 'Photographic Association of Dum Dum' (PAD). He was out and out a creative person and could easily wander into any field. His creativity was not limited to photography; he could masterly tailor clothes, pants, leather goods like bags and other materials. He was both artist and craftsman. Internationally renowned photographer Benu Sen received numerous honors and awards from various parts of the world. Mr. Benu Sen became the third person in the world to receive the prestigious honour of 'Master of Photography' (MFIAP) by the Federation Internationale de l'Art Photographique, an organization recognized by UNESCO, Fellow of Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (FRPS) in 1975, EFIAP in 1960, ESFIAP in 1972, Hon.EFIAP and more for his contributions to pictorial photography. He was awarded numerous honorary titles such as F.J.I.A.P.(Japan), F.N.P.A.S.(Sri Lanka), F.P.B.S. (Bangladesh), FPAD (India), FCOS (Romania), Hon.FPAB, Hon.SOP, etc.
There was no genre in photography where he did not roam freely. His world famous picture 'Mother' (which was the first Indian picture published in a British journal of Photography in 1960). Universality has perpetuated the mother-child relationship. His inventions of BS4 , Tonorama and Macro Pictography are unique contributions. He authored the book 'Art of Photography' and jointly published 'Learn Photography' and 'Experimental Photography' which are very notable publications. He has been a jury at many international salons in India and abroad. He was a teacher, researcher, administrator and preacher. He has produced numerous students of international repute. No one has been refused at any time who came to him to inquire anything about photography. He never hesitated to impart his knowledge.
I am fortunate to learn photography from him as a younger brother. The 'Free Photographic Course' conceived by me is the first systematic course in India absolutely free of cost and is the most significant contribution of PAD where he regularly taught without any remuneration since the introduction of the course in 1968. As a result, PAD became a full-fledged photography educational centre completely free of charge. He is considered a legend in the world of pictorial photography. His contribution to the development of world photography is perhaps greater than that of any other Indian photographer. It was under his supervision that the state-of-the-art photography department was set up in the Indian Museum in 1963. In 2010, he was awarded rare national honour by the Government of India in recognition of his lifetime achievement as a creative photographer.
Actually he was a household monk. He used to dream in that language. Photography was his first love, photography wass his life, photography was his breath, PAD was his blood. He continued to meditate and develop photography till the last day of his life (17th May 2011). By sacrificing everything for photography he actually became richer.
This peace text of Isopanishad is very applicable in this context
Purnamadah Purnamidang Purnaat Purnamudachyate.
Purnasya Purnamada Purnamevabashisha.
O Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:
By:
Prof. Biswatosh Sengupta
