Arun (name changed) is studiously stooped over an open book outside his home. On the floor, beside him, are his school bags. The boy is seen wedged between two shanties located in a basti in East Delhi. This frame has a backstory to it: of a little boy, who until recently, did not have a legal identity to speak of. Without a material identity marker, he did not stand a chance of achieving any of his dreams, let alone sit in a classroom. Arun is just one of the many street-connected children whose existence has remained obscure for a long time, making accessibility to school bleak. Moreover, not having an identity card meant that they were rendered out of the reach of any Government scheme.
Child rights organisation Save the Children’s project, Surviving the Streets in India: Making #TheInvisibles Visibles, is a step toward strengthening these children’s access to survival, development and protection. A part of this initiative, which kickstarted in April 2018, is a photo project led by internationally acclaimed photographer Vicky Roy, that documents the journey of 30 children living in street situations, towards securing an Aadhar card. Arun’s is one such journey. In collaboration with Chennai Photo Biennale, Vicky Roy will discuss this series with an online audience later this week. Pragya Vats, Save the Children Campaign Head-India, will join him, in a bid to touch upon the importance of marrying “craft and cause”.
Vicky’s own experience makes him the closest to his subjects. Originally from West Bengal, Vicky ran away from his home and started working as a rag picker at the New Delhi Railway Station, before he was rehabilitated by the NGO, Salaam Baalak Trust, Delhi. Later, through the medium of photography, he would go on to tell stories of similar experiences.
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This project enabled him to meet and interact with children living in street situations across 10 cities in the country. “I was very clear that while showing the reality, I should not invite people to look at them with sympathetic eyes,” says the photographer, adding, “I have tried to capture them in their happiest, natural being.” He has spent a lot of time with the children, making them comfortable about sharing their day-to-day happenings.
“For me, the session would be about breaking down the numbers, and the apathy that urban middle-class people have. We realise that this is one population that is literally not counted. When we don’t have data on a moving population, it is difficult to provide them with essential services,” says Pragya, adding that providing identity was a major part of the campaign, in addition to identifying locations that see the most influx of street-connected children. “We wanted to build a powerful narrative, not of sympathy, but empathy. Which is why we wanted Vicky to lead this photo project,” says Pragya, adding that any other situation would bring a sense of ‘otherness’.
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The series had been on display virtually in April, after the campaign successfully linked 2,28,253 children to legal identity documents. And, 89,994 street-connected children have been linked to various Government social protection schemes and services.
A Lens on the Invisibles will be on June 4, 5 to 6.30 pm. Find the registration link at @cpblearninglab (Instagram).