Gogi Pehlwan

Gogi Pehlwan was a Ruh Khitch photographer.

Ruh Khitch, translated from Punjabi as ‘Spirit Pulling’, refers to the way the photographer puts his hand inside the purpose built camera containing a mobile darkroom and pulls out the photograph. Traditional ruh khitch is a way in which black-and-white photographs can be taken, printed and sold to a client without a studio or darkroom. It was practised throughout the twentieth century, mostly in South Asia by photographers who worked on the pavement near government offices (where passport size portraits were needed), and at tourist attractions like the Bhatti Gate of the walled city of Lahore.