The Stone Breakers Photo

Photographer’s Note

Driven by hunger, families of subsistence farmers inhabiting unproductive parched deserts of Rajasthan often must find alternative employment. Many young women, some able-bodied and not so young, find that the only employment they can find is to work as laborers in construction projects or in open mines. The work can be arduous. Here these two girls were whacking away at enormous piles of hard rock. Several hits by these hammers are sometimes necessary to even chip or crack some of these large stones, and slowly the massive rocks would be broken down to piles of stone chips, some of which would serve as the base of asphalt roadways and some laid down to solidify the foundations of concrete houses, like the one behind them, the interior of which will be decorated with lush carpets, cooled by air-condition, TV in each room, piped music perhaps, refrigerators filled with sweet lassi scented with fruits. These two women would then be hammering away at yet another pile of rocks, the desert sun beating down on their dark sinewy bodies, as they would hammer away converting more ragged stones into pleasures of sweetly scented lassi for the Valentines of IT executives.

To these Valentines....

Miks, ManuMay, Praetzer, SamB, zips, ramesh_lalwani, Salil_B, kenmac has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Miks (1707) 2007-02-14 18:02

Disturbing photo and note. Thanks for calling these issues to our attention. Here is an area where photo-journalism is very effective.

As for the photo itself. I like how the tilted angle helps bring out the movement of the scene. Moreover, the way the shadow leads the eye to the, otherwise easily missed, woman in the background is great. It is a bit of a shame that her hand is not included, I think. And it would have been good to see her face as well.

Best,
Mikkel

ManuMay (11438) 2007-02-14 18:12

I am on the line of Mikkel.
Wonderful colours and special POv, but the important is the theme.
TFS
Manuel

Praetzer (1657) 2007-02-14 18:14

Thanks for your note. Excellent compo.Like the diagonal.
ALfred

SamB (1948) 2007-02-14 21:49

Hello, Animesh--
The idea is nice here, but a few things bug me--first, it seems a bit overexposed, losing some saturation. Also, the DOF bothers me a little bit--it's not sharp deep in the frame, but it's not bokehed much either, instead feeling unintentionally unsharp. i also wish taht the rest of her hand was in the frame. The long shadow visible is nice, emphasizing the harsh nature of the work. A very thoughtful note, i like where you were going with this one.
Thanks!
sam

zips (1941) 2007-02-15 2:30

You know about the hand already....not a huge thing considering the overall quality of this photo.

What makes it stand out to me is a small thing.....the speck of color that balances the composition provided by the other working woman in the background.

Great Job.
Aloha, JB

bhorerpakhi (559) 2007-02-15 3:31

A nice picture with lots of colour to play with. Its hard life for them. But somewhere in your note I sense an accusing finger aimed at the 'other class'. Is it a crime to be well off? If my assumption is wrong, I apologise in advance.
Poulomi

rajiv_077 (1355) 2007-02-15 8:14

Hi ray

Very good documentry photograph, Great shot.

regards

rajiv

Salil_B (737) 2007-02-15 12:01

Excellent image. Though, somehow, it seems to be in a different style.

bombilla (3402) 2007-02-15 13:37

I saw this in Sikkim and took some ineffective shots from a distance, but never got close enough to attempt something dynamic like this, and I didn't want impose myself, because I am often bothered by my place in the unequal power relationship. But it fascinated me and disturbed me in way I have trouble expressing. To see women sitting on piles of stone and hammering away at them all day long. How could this be? My mind reeled. I have never forgotten it. -Hugh

kensimage (8543) 2007-02-17 2:34

It really makes one contemplate--would they be better off if there WEREN'T wealthy IT executives to pay them a few meager rupees to do backbreaking labor in the hot sun? Does the presence of wealth effectively more entice people with false promises, or give them at least something as an alternative to having no opportunity at all? I don't know the answers, but your photo and note definitely pose the questions well, Animesh. Regards, Ken.

kenmac (529) 2007-06-20 18:32

I like your style...it comes through in so many of your photos..and here is no exception. Photo-journalistic, and..your notes always make great reading. I share your feelings about intruding into some of these people's lives..for me its like a sense of guilt. No its not a crime to be well off, but it is a crime to institutionalise a system which keeps the lower classes in their place. And this happens in Western countries too.
KMc