Faustin Elmer Chaudhry (F E Chaudhry), or Chacha Chaudhry was an iconic photo-journalist from Pakistan who was considered the grandfather of photo-journalism in Pakistan. His images documented some of Pakistan’s key historic moments. He was the father of late war hero Cecil Chaudhry. The Pakistan Times was the only independent newspaper of that time. Mr. Chaudhry joined as staff reporter in 1949 and remained associated with it till his retirement.
Chaudhry’s photographs mapped the journey and growth of a nation through its highest and lowest points – the times of Jinnah, the political uprisings during Ayub’s military takeover, Bhutto before his execution and others. He received a number of coveted awards from the government, such as the Tamgha-i-Khidmat, Sitara-i-Imtiaz and Pride of Performance, in recognition of his contribution to Pakistan.
He was affectionately known as ‘chacha’ by his fellow workers and is still recognized for having introduced innovative features to photojournalism, such as cricket action photography, pictorial and artistic studies of birds and animals in photojournalism. F.E. Chaudhry also played a very active and noticeable role in community affairs. He passed away on his 104th birthday in 2013.
Courtesy : Junaid Zuberi
