Madan Mahatta (family name, Mehta, anglicized as Mahatta) was born in 1932 in Srinagar, Kashmir. The Mehta family, opened their first studio in Srinagar in 1915 and subsequently opened branchesin Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Jammu, Gulmarg and Murree which were closed during India’s partition.The family eventually moved to Delhi and opened their studio, Mahatta & Co. at Connaught Place in 1947. Madan Mahattawent for his graduation to the Guildford School of Arts & Crafts in Surrey England in 1950. After completing his graduation in photography, he stayed on for another year to learn colour negative positive printing just being introduced there by AGFA. On his return to India in 1954 he put to use this knowledge of the new technological advancement in photography and Mahatta & Co. became the first studio in the country to introduce colour negative positive printing. The studio grew to become a famed and iconic destination though Madan Mahatta rarely displayed his professional photography works. Shooting on medium-format monochromatic film for more than three decades, from the 1950s to the 1980s, Madan Mahatta documented the development of New Delhi. He experimented in a range of subject matters beyond his architectural images, such as studio portraits , industrial photography and feature magazine work. He had a special affinity for Connaught Place, where he ran the studio for more than five decades. In 2012, Photoink presented his solo show, Delhi Modern curated by Ram Rahman, an exhibition of Madan Mahatta’s architectural photographs. In 2015, an exhibition was held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), marking a century of Mahatta & Co. and presented numerous works by Madan Mahatta. Few of Madan’s notable achievements has been a special invitation to photograph the King of Bhutan. His picture of the monarch's profile was used on Bhutan's currency and coins. Madan photographed many a celebrity on their visit to India. Queen of England, Madame Titto, JacquelinKennedy, J. L Nehru, Dalai Lama, to name a few.. Not merely a photographer, but an artist, Madan painted each picture with love and understanding……love for his work and understanding of the form in front of him. Over a span of 60 years, Madan Mahatta assembled a huge archives of images. Moments of national importance appear in his vast archive, including photographs of Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to India in 1961. He passed away in 2014. The legacy of Mahatta & Co. is carried forward by his sons Pavan and Pankaj and grandson Arjun Mahatta.