Chokras’ Mahal

Photographer Itai Doron developed a fascination with India through movies he had seen that were set there, in particular a series of three films called "The Apu Trilogy" by Satyajit Ray. The films are a "coming-of-age" narrative, describing the childhood, education, and early maturity of a young Indian boy, Apu. Subsequently, Apu became the metaphorical hero of Chokra Mahal, which is, among other things, Doron's own interpretation of the spirit of Apu, and an account of the search for him in his various selves and manifestations amongst the villagers, temple dwellers, bazaar crowds, candy vendors, and street kids inhabiting the magically compelling and beautiful landscape of northern India. In the streets bustling with people, Doron's attention was also drawn to the aggressive exuberance of Rajasthan's stray dog population. Despisingly referred to by the locals as pye-dogs; these ownerless, half-wild mongrel dogs became Doron's second point of focus, becoming a metaphor for the raw elements and contradictions of the place "I discovered Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali in 1985, and had developed a fascination with India after seeing it. I got drawn to India's cultural traditions and history, the chaos and richness...it was at the top of my list of places to go to, and some twenty years later I went there for the first time and traveled across Rajasthan and the Indian desert. I literally got sucked into this strangely beautiful place, with its cinematic and atmospheric qualities." Itai Doron