Dinesh Pushparani turns personal quest into photo exhibition

2026-03-11 - 23:04

Dinesh Pushparani spent two years putting his solo exhibition, ‘Aram’, together. (Dinesh Pushparani pic) PETALING JAYA: On some weekends, photographer Dinesh Pushparani would find himself standing quietly in front of a small shrine – sometimes nothing more than a few bricks beneath a tree. “For years, families would have stood at this very spot, praying for the same thing: ‘Take care of my family, let today be a good day’,” he shared. “This is the manifestation of positivity. I could actually feel that. This is energy that has been harnessed there for years. All they wanted was a belief system so they could cope with hard times.” For Dinesh, who is a journalist at FMT, those quiet moments of devotion became the seed of “Aram” (meaning “virtue”) – a photography exhibition that explores faith, memory, and the quiet resilience of everyday people. Running until March 21 at ArtVoice Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, the show features 12 photographs and one installation work, drawn from his two-year photographic journey across Malaysia. But this exhibition, curated by local artist Stephen Menon, offers a unique study on something deeper than temples or religion: the invisible discipline that belief can give to human life. This work, ‘The Guardian’, quietly observes the countless people who visit shrines and temples to pray for very similar things. (Dinesh Pushparani pic) Long before he began photographing temples, as a boy, Dinesh would absorb the atmosphere within them. Born in Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor, and raised partly in Banting, he spent much of his early years in a plantation settlement where his great-grandmother and great-uncle cared for him while his parents worked. “She used to tell me stories about the Ramayana and Mahabharata,” the now 35-year-old recalled. Life in the estate left strong visual impressions: “I remember the rituals, the temples, the chickens, the goats that were slaughtered.” As a child, he did not think deeply about faith itself: what fascinated him were the sights and rituals unfolding around him. Looking back, those vivid scenes may have planted the seeds of visual storytelling. But Dinesh’s path wasn’t exactly straightforward. In his 20s, he pursued filmmaking and even worked as an assistant director on a Malaysian Tamil film. The experience, however, left him uncertain. “On the last day of the shoot, I realised this was not for me,” he said. Soon after, he took a job at an art gallery in KL earning just RM500 a month. “I had to sleep in my car. Every morning I would go to a public toilet, freshen up, and then open the gallery.” In his search, Dinesh followed his instincts to discover many shrines and Tamil folk deities. (Dinesh Pushparani pic) Those difficult months eventually led him to work in FMT’s video department, but the urge to create never disappeared. Instead, photography became his refuge. “Street photography feels meditative – you never know what you will encounter. Sometimes you turn right instead of left and suddenly you meet an interesting subject.” The turning point came during a trip to Langkawi, when Dinesh photographed a Tamil folk deity inside a small temple. “I liked the faces. I liked the energy. When I saw the photos later, I knew I wanted to explore more temples.” What he came to realise was that he had drifted away from the faith-based traditions that once surrounded him. Visiting temples thus became a way for him to rediscover something he had lost. From that moment, his weekly photography routine changed. Instead of wandering the streets, he began seeking out lesser-known shrines and estate temples across the country. “I would just take my bag and go,” he said. “The subject would change, but my approach would stay the same.” Many of these makeshift temples took root beneath sacred fig or banyan trees. (Dinesh Pushparani pic) At its core, “Aram” is about humanity, exploring how small communities build spaces of hope through shared belief. “Sometimes, the object of devotion might just be a brick or a tree. But they (devotees) give it meaning. They give themselves the strength to believe today will be a good day,” Dinesh said. Through these images, he hopes viewers will look beyond temples and rituals and reflect on something more universal: the quiet strength that belief can bring to ordinary lives. For him, the project remains deeply personal. After all, as he sees it, faith – much like photography – is simply another way of chasing light. ‘Aram’ (until March 21) ArtVoice Gallery 28, Jalan Kovil Hilir, Sentul, 51100 Kuala Lumpur Follow ArtVoice Gallery on Instagram.