‘The Breakfast Affair’ Is A Lavish South Asian Dream Spread

Vriddhi Sawlani

If there is one thing I can say with absolute certainty, it is the fact that a good plate of food is an antidote to even the worst of days. There is nothing good food can’t fix and there is nothing more intrinsic to the human experience than food binding us all (atleast pre-beef bans and having the government surveilling your plate).

For Jaipur-based 22-year-old photographer Vriddhi Sawlani, inspiration for her photoseries struck in the form of conceptualising a breakfast for champions. Her photoseries The Breakfast Affair is a visual and aesthetic treat that is sure to get you hungry. We asked Sawlani to give us an insight into the series, what inspired it, and what’s next from her.

Firstly, can you please tell us a little about your project?

The Breakfast Affair is a series that talks about a South Asian Dream. A large table of breakfast put together from around Indian cultures through its food. A world where our different choices are accepted and the concept of space is understood. A lavish Indian breakfast. A desi queen’s day out or as I sometimes like to say – desi drip in its actual form. I hope you like this and I am extremely sorry if this made you crave a lot of dhoklas and parathas.

What would you consider as your source of inspiration?

The biggest inspiration for me would be artists from every walk of life because they have a slice of life that we might have missed out on and they give us that in a platter. From the local designer across my street to a musician like FKJ. And another would be my mother because I’ve grown up looking at her making everything possible look so easy that I wanted to do it too. She’s someone who introduced art to my life and there hasn’t been any looking back since.

Is there a certain creative process that you follow or is it all very instinctual?

Any creative process asks for your patience and that’s how I usually go about it. I get ideas at the most random places and I write them down as soon as I do. I try to pan out in ways that I can show those ideas visually. I always want my visuals to have simplicity even when I am working in a maximalist set because I feel whenever I am looking at anything I don’t want it to confuse me. And that’s why I create visuals in the simplest way possible because there’s too much chaos around me and I want to address in the most basic form so that it’s understood instead of getting lost in chaos and confusion. It’s just my way of expressing.

As a photographer yourself, is there any photograph that’s had a lasting impact on you?

I think it was a photograph by Steve Mcurry called ‘The Afgan Girl’. That image was so powerful, but to look at it, it is just a portrait. It really made me believe that a photograph isn’t just a click but so much more to do with emotions.

Lastly, what is one personal project you are most excited about?

It’s yet to be realised but it’s a project about 5 stages of grief and I closely relate to it. I can assure people can too. It’s shot in an old fashioned theme but the emotions of the series are quite millennial. I am super excited to put it out.