The agony and the ecstasy | Sunhil Sippy's pictorial narrative of Mumbai horse racing
Photographer Sunhil Sippy captures the heady excitement of horse racing at Mumbai's Mahalaxmi Racecourse
A walk in the hood has been a basic need for Sunhil Sippy to make frames. Somewhere along the way, he stumbled upon the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. In the heart of Mumbai, this is a world that ticks at its own pace. That comes alive on race day and reverts to its subtle rhythm once the hordes have dispersed.
A walk in the hood has been a basic need for Sunhil Sippy to make frames. Somewhere along the way, he stumbled upon the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. In the heart of Mumbai, this is a world that ticks at its own pace. That comes alive on race day and reverts to its subtle rhythm once the hordes have dispersed.
An outsider who once stood easy on the perimeter, Sippy soon found himself caught in the vortex, learning to soak in its many dimensions. An unsaid harmony between man and beast. The deafening silence giving way to a frenzied roar once the gates opened. The rhythmic thundering of the approaching horses, the bated breaths in the stands as loud as vociferous cheers. Then, a sudden drop in decibels once they hurtled past the winning post. Some taking stock of the gains, others tossing away their bet receipts in disgust.
This was drama to his cinematic eye. When the opportunity to chronicle this setting arose, the walker in him transformed into a lurker, armed with a camera. It took a decade for RACEDAY to take shape. Sippy’s photographs script a narrative of their own. “I just wandered around the racecourse, became invisible and absorbed myself into this world,” Sippy says. It’s evident in his work. He listens in on the sweet nothings that syces whisper to their towering companions. He captures jockeys in their moments of vulnerability. He gets up close to pensive stewards armed in helmets and protective gear. He rubs shoulders with edgy gamblers and dazzling ladies in their Sunday best. He stumbles upon horses in their element, wild and free. Scenes that are even more relevant at a time when the racecourse is set to lose a certain character to development.
“The joy of photography for me is a lack of intentionality, having absolutely no idea what I’m doing. Until I heard of redevelopment plans on the anvil. That’s when the intentionality came in. I wanted to create something that was enduring,” he says. A part of what RACEDAY holds is legacy that will be snatched from its rightful owners. Those who make it tick backstage, those whose hearts beat in sync on race day. And walkers-turned-lurkers like Sippy.
