India is the most diversified country in the world. With 29 states and a population of 1.2 billion living in these states, the culture and traditions are followed by 9 religions.

But, there’s one thing in common. Every God or Goddess has been portrayed  to us as White Skinned when majorly the population has a darker tone.

And thus, these Chennai based photographers- Naresh Nil and Bhardwaj Sundar,  break all the stereotypes and re-create the same image of Gods with a dark tone in their beautiful photographs.

Divinity has many forms, and colours have been used in various ways to depict the Divine. The jury is out, but in common culture, we still find godliness being depicted through ‘white’ or ‘fair’ skin, right from the small photo of God in the neighborhood store, to the big framed photo hanging inside a house.

By depicting Gods we revere as dark-skinned, this initiative aims to celebrate a different view of their divinity, serenity and all pervasive beauty by going beyond perceptions.

1. Goddess Lakshmi 

2. Goddess Durga

3. Goddess Saraswati

4. Lord Shiva

5. Lord Krishna

6. Bala Murugan, form of Lord Subrahmanya

7. Mother Sita

Dark is not just beautiful, but divine.