Prabuddha Dasgupta (21 September 1956 – 12 August 2012) was a self-taught photographer who grew up in the cultural chaos of post-colonial India. Although he studied to be a historian, he started his career as a copywriter before turning to photography. In 1996, Prabuddha Dasgupta's controversial collection of portraits and nudes of urban Indian women titled Women (Viking Books) was published, with the intent of reinstating the nude to its rightful place in the Indian cultural discourse. In the decade that followed, Prabuddha pursued a variety of photographic projects, unapologetically straddling the two worlds of commissioned and artistic work. He brought a bold, individualistic sensibility that very quickly placed him in the ranks of major photographic talent in the country. His second book Ladakh (Viking Books), a personal exploration of India's frontier wilderness, was published in 2000. Edge of Faith (Seagull Books), a collection of portraits of the Catholic community in Goa, was published in 2009. Prabuddha's work has been exhibited and published both in India and around the world. His work is included in many publications including The Paris Review, Nudi (Motta Editore, Milan) and India Now - New Photographic Visions (Textuel, Paris). Prabuddha was also the recipient of many grants and awards including the Yves Saint Laurent grant for photography in1991. His work is in the collections of many individuals and institutions, like the Museo Ken Damy, Brescia, Italy, and Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy. Prabuddha passed away on the 12th of August, 2012. Since, the Estate of Prabuddha Dasgupta has organised a retrospective exhibition of his work at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, in September 2015, and published Prabuddha Dasgupta: 1956 – 2012, a book of selected images from the photographer's various bodies of work. His work is managed by The Estate of Prabuddha Dasgupta