Shadow liner

Ice cream vendor

2007-03-27T01:46:00.000-07:00

As far as I remember, his name is Sundaram. I saw him selling ice cream in Mamallapuram beach.After we finished bathing in the beach for 2 hours, we thought of having an ice cream for each. The Sun was harsh. The sand under our feet were really hot; we were not even able to stand in a place for more than 2 minutes. Sundaram was there in the beach through out the day with his ice cream hand puller. I had ice cream in the noon and forgot him totally, but when I came back to the beach in the evening, I saw him still there in the beach. It was already dark in the beach, he had a electric bulb connected with his hand puller. I smiled at him and asked for a photograph. He was glad...

When the Sun rises | Fishermen at work

2007-03-12T01:41:00.000-07:00

Mamallapuram is one of the place in the east coast of Bay of Bengal which was a worst hit of Tsunami 2004. On 26 December early in the morning, it was just few waves which came and changed the lives of the fishermen community at Mamallapuram. It had been a nightmare for the people who live their life by fishing and for the people who had been staying by the sea. Still the people coped up with that and started living a new life again. It is like a rebirth of phoenix.I wanted to observe their activities and the way how they stand united to cope up with the devastated natural calamities.This photoessay is a tribute to those fishermen who are no longer with us.

Moment of Life | 08:55 AM, March 4, 2007

2007-03-10T04:03:00.000-08:00

Vegetable vendor at Russel Market. Early in the morning , First ray of the sun fell on him from behind. A reflected glowing light from the tomatoes, garlics and onions created some kind of surreal effect on his face. Not enough to see it, not so less to hide it, may be it was just perfect as to hide his inner self. I can only imagine here. He may be in his late fifties. I wonder, his son or daughter might be as old as me and working somewhere or doing some business. He must retire from his job at this stage when his child would be earning enough to look him after. I don't really know the situation here. May be he does it because , his children are still searching for a job or do not earn money enough; may be he does it because he does not want to be on the mercy of his children for a living. Another moment of life, for a survive, for a better day.

Moment of Life | 08:11 AM , 20 FEBRUARY 2007

2007-02-19T22:23:00.000-08:00

While passing through this burial ground, today morning, I came across this man digging up soil for putting a coffin inside. I just stopped there for sometime, watched him speechlessly for near about 15 minutes. I was thinking about the situation and wondering what was there in his mind. I felt this job is not just a ordinary day-to-day soil digging, but something more difficult than this. It relates with something, kind of a end of life; and when you realize this fact, you need to convince yourself with this fact that you are also a part of it. And it become more difficult to do the job.

I don't know whether this person too quite thinks in this way, but I am sure about one thing that he does this job to earn a life for him and for his family; his spouse, his children. A different moment of life altogether.

Moment of Life | 07:10 PM , 10 FEBRUARY 2007

2007-02-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

Life passes by and so does the time. But for those 3 people, everything seems to be passing so fast in front of them,as if they are sitting in a time machine and watching the changes. Those 3 people were sitting in a busy street crossing waiting for the bus.

May be they are new to this city or they are commuters. This is just another moment of life.

Looking through the wall

2007-02-10T01:03:00.000-08:00

I was outside then.. and a small gap between two metal sheet make shift wall .. i found him again working there inside..they were transporting soil to another place. Migrant worker series.

Moment of Life | 07:59 AM , 4 FEBRUARY 2007

2007-02-04T13:32:00.001-08:00

It was raining heavily,and I thought it would be good to read a story book or a novel, or may be just to gaze at the window to watch the interplay between the wind and those coconut trees; the girl already came to me a served hot tea twice, I could not ask for more, people are out here were very friendly. I always love train journey, love toy trains going through the Dooars; and those Nepali children playing song in harmonica. Those are truly a memorable moments of my life.
I am starting a new series called Moment of Life.

at the dawn

2007-02-03T08:22:00.001-08:00

A journey or insomnia

2007-01-31T06:27:00.000-08:00

I was not feeling well last week. got viral fever... recovering still .. so here is a picture of that mood ...

... a long long journey for 40 hours in train... from Bangalore to Kolkata. This train takes the east coastal road through out Tamilnadu, AndraPradesh, Orissa and then WestBengal.

two nights and one day within the train, in this A/C compartment, you can't see much of outside landscapes but the faces of your other co-passengers.. a truly boring journey ... but nothing can be done to overcome this.

This person in the foreground had not slept last night. He was going to Assam, He learned that there were some kind of Riots in Assam by ULFA , some of the Bihari people were already evacuated from the land of Assam , He was quite worried about it.I saw him talking over mobile phone every hour.

on the other hand this little boy was so spontaneous always, always doing something very important !!! His mother was also got tired atlast...

those are the 40 hours of insomnia...

Way to work

2007-01-25T07:05:00.000-08:00

He is one of the youngest in their group...Again a sad story but could not be avoided.. He did not finish his study,rather in this poor condition he just came out of his home and started working; he have nobody here to take care for him. His mother in his home state is working as a maiden in somebody's home...
...a true soldier fighting for his future... alone in this place; away from his nearer people..

Suraj

2007-01-24T23:35:00.000-08:00

Meet him... He is Suraj.. Suraj means Sun in Hindi... He is a daily worker and migrated from Bihar. He left his home last year... roaming here and there at the construction sites... no permanent address for him. He earns very less here and after that too he sends a reasonable amount of money to his home.. he has a home to look after too.

... I saw him first in a Bank some days back. He came there to make a bank-draft to send to his home... He asked me to fill up his form for making the draft as he did not know how to fill up a form...a sad story though but a true life...

Heavy Load

2007-01-24T01:13:00.000-08:00

..this is one kind of life what they live after being migrated... a very very bizarre situation but at the same time they don't have any other good job than this to do...

I was standing on the top floor of this 9th storied building and he was climbing up all the way from the ground floor carrying this kind of heavy sand bags and other things... at the end of the day they get even less than 100 rupees..USD $ 2.25...

when the sun goes down

2007-01-22T07:44:00.000-08:00

After the dusk , in a construction site. Workers are enjoying some lighter moments amongst them.Some of the them are sitting on the huge pile of the raw materials used in construction.

Journey continues

2007-01-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

chacha in transition

2007-01-19T00:35:00.000-08:00

"Chacha , main aapka ek photo le sakta hoon ?", this is how I asked him. Basically a flower seller, Chacha in his mid-sixties did not oppose me. He just smiled , as if he had seen so many things through out his life and now, this small fellow with a camera could not amuse him at all. He was just in his own world. He was very indifferent to life.

not a stranger

2007-01-18T01:38:00.001-08:00

I don't know his name, neither his whereabout... I found him on the street. he might be wondering, but looked at me, I smiled and took a photo... suddenly somebody came inside my frame and went through... for an instance I thought gone, this wonderful moment had gone away, this wonderful interaction had gone away. But when I looked at my camera LCD, I smiled,I had him. And he just vanished. Hey wait a min, I know him, I know him for a long time, he is not a stranger... he is me, he is my childhood.

Hard working

2007-01-17T07:12:00.001-08:00

This fourteen years old boy is working in the construction site.He came from West Bengal two years back. As he is still young , he can not do any heavy work in the site, so he mixes cement and lime which is used in polishing the inner wall of the rooms.He works there as a helper.Mixing cement,lime and water with a bare hand for a long time causes harm for the skin.
Such a contradiction, in this young age he was supposed to pick a pen and study but poverty forced him to do this harmful job.

... and suddenly they appear

2007-01-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

I felt like an intruder in this city... I knew each and every corner of this street; each bump and potholes, but I was unable to relate myself with the atmosphere... different light, different people, different business at night... I was little scared again... People from the street whom I knew very much turned as strangers... I was trying to make myself comfortable with them... and suddenly they both appeared ... they came in my obsessed mind and walked away... like a wind.

Way of life

2007-01-15T07:57:00.001-08:00

This staircase was not enough illuminated to step up in the evening. Besides that there is a big gap in between to keep a space for lift. It was very dangerous to walk on in the evening. However this migrant woman worker was walking up to the top floor to supply the raw material for making the wall of the room. She has her child on her shoulder and a sand bag on her head. Definitely a risky condition. But nothing can stop them, and they still walk on and on.

Narrow Alley, alone at night

2007-01-15T06:33:00.000-08:00

"Urban Cityscape, A stroll at Night" Series. I was quite lost in those small narrow alleys in Shivaji Nagar area. I asked one shopkeeper there to show me the way out. Not enough lit, ghostly silent and like a no man's city , this alley made me afraid. Suddenly this man appeared from nowhere. I was surprised, felt safe and comfortable and then terribly got afraid. Who was the guy in this alley ? Where from he came here ? what he was doing then ?? My mind was blocked.ISO 800 1/4 sec f/2.8 24mm.

A small piece of life

2007-01-14T07:42:00.001-08:00

When I asked them whether they like the food provided by the contractor, everybody started yelling for the food. Contractor provides only rice and sambar everyday, which is,for their taste, too sour. So they have made an alternative;they bought a cooker. People used to buy vegetable from the local market and prepare vegetable for themselves. So rice, sambar and a vegetable curry is the daily menu for dinner - a food for living.

Urban cityscape, a stroll at night

2007-01-13T10:47:00.000-08:00

A different post for today.It was the time for us to come back home, suddenly I found him on the other side of the road; a butcher by profession. He did not see me at all. I was there just below the arch. Sitting unconsciously and thinking something different , I think, the other boy was a perfect inclusion inside the frame. I was looking through his eyes. Russel Market, night 8:00PM, ISO 800, 1/6 Sec, f/2.8, 24mm.

A ray of hope

2007-01-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

Late afternoon, inside of a make-shift home ; it is a half-finished flat inside the apartment.7 people are staying in the same room and they prepare food for themselves. They work till 6PM in the evening ; and after that it is the time for little leisure. They bought a CD player and two cheap speakers to listen bollywood numbers. I was told that they even bought a color TV for themselves. The life goes on just like that... still they hope for a better life.

A perspective

2007-01-11T08:13:00.001-08:00

A group of migrant workers are sharing a lighter moment among themselves while doing their work in a construction site. A different perspective altogether; a way of getting rid of the hassles of their day to day life.

Vishnu feeling blue

2007-01-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

Vishnu felt very much homesick when he told me about his native place. I met him in a construction site and came forward to talk to him. I was quite surprised to know that he came from the same place where I belong to . He knows my father too. He is in Bangalore for last 5 years. On last Diwali, he went to his home and brought his brother here too. Vishnu and Nitai both work here in the same construction site. Earning a negligible amount of money and staying in the same construction site, he still thinks that some day he will be able to leave this job and start a grocery shop back in his village and stay with his family.

PS. Vishu and Nitai , both are names of Hindu gods.

Durga and her brother

2007-01-08T05:54:00.000-08:00

While I did some work with the daily workers, I walked in some of the places where they stayed. I saw their places, their make shift rooms and everything, no clean water, no medicine, no proper sanitation. Still they are growing, but not quite the way other children do.

A recent news in India has shocked all of us. Nithari Serial Killing. Those children were also from a very poor background, staying in slums and mostly migrated from Bihar , Orissa and West Bengal. Nobody could raise their voices against it for last 20 months, Police did not take FIRs, nobody gave any attention to them. Seems like the biggest shame for India recently.

Russel Market , again

2006-12-29T10:52:00.000-08:00

Refugee family

2006-12-29T06:37:00.000-08:00

A refugee family in Howrah Station, West Bengal. People used to migrate to state capital for a better living and earning.But by leaving their own place, they become a victim of middle man in the working industry.On one hand they become homeless and on the other they are forced to work without a proper like rickshaw pulling, porter job at railway station, working at construction site etc etc.