At the outset, please forgive me for the quality of this picture, as it was shot by my cell-phone, during bright sunlight.
On the occasion of Vishu, I visited Kochchu Guruvayur temple in Matunga. On the way back the cab stopped at a traffic signal near my office. Suddenly an urchin appeared, peeping in from the closed window and asking for spare change. One couldn’t help but notice the “rays of hopes” in his eyes. You could see a tide of misery, want and hunger in his eyes. While shooting such images of poverty, I start asking myself," Am I 'exploring' or ‘exploiting’? Sometimes I feel ashamed of myself, because, I am not doing anything constructive for these kids. On the contrary, I am shooting their faces to fill up my gallery. Isn't that hypocrisy?
Despite my personal feelings, the fact remains that we see a lot of poverty around us. I am little more sensitive about the kids. At this playful age, ideally, this kid should have been getting good education, good food, good shelter and good friends to play around. It's a terrible feeling to see these kids begging for money.
Winds of globalization, ups and downs of Stock market, yearly financial budgets doesn't make a bit of difference to these peoples' life-style. It is so ironic to judge a country's growth on these mundane financial facts (?). Surveys tell us that only 5% of the total population invests in stock market.
It is really disappointing to imagine the future of such kids.
Venue: Lower Parel, Mumbai. April 2008.
ADD COMMENTS:
