Earlier in the week, a very clever friend suggested that it is often those with the least who are best at seeing the silver lining.
Today, I saw evidence of that in a most emphatic manner.
Spending much of the day in Calcutta’s largest slum is a sobering experience. The poverty is, quite obviously, inescapable. The tiniest of homes (to stretch the definition of “home” to its limits) are intersected by the narrowest of alleyways. Residents live right on top of the largest dump in Calcutta and pick plastic and rubber and anything else they can glean in order to earn a few rupees.
So why is there laughter here? I do not know. But there is. There’s laughter and friendly banter, there’s hospitality and generosity and more dignity than you would ever expect to find in such a place. If you wish to see evidence of the resilience of the human spirit, it’s here.
© Aaron Walling
It’s virtually impossible to take a photograph of just one person in an Indian city. Everybody wants to be in front of the camera. I lost count of the number of times that an eager parent placed a beloved child in front of me today, making the universal sign-language motions for “take a picture”. They didn’t want a copy of the photo. They didn’t ask for money. They rarely even asked to see the image in the LCD screen of my camera. They simply wanted a moment of recognition and attention. It’s easy to share in a place like this.
However, I did want to try and make a solitary portrait of Durga, the elderly lady in the centre of the group above. I think if anyone deserved to be seen in her own space today, it was her. With a little crowd-control, we managed to find enough space and I succeeded in firing two frames before being swamped again.
Durga
This was one of those “I want to do this justice” moments, which photographers may be familiar with. A second, maybe less, when the noise subsided and I was blessed with a shared moment. A precious second, no more, which won’t escape me in a hurry.
In Kolkota, I am working with Splash (www.splash.org) who are responsible for providing one of the most essential but often elusive resources in urban environments: clean water. Please check out the Splash web site for more information about the incredible work their dedicated team are doing.