the beggar girl Photo

Photographer’s Note

note- the eye have been dodged and the road in the background has been burnt a bit.
poverty exists and i know that all of you know about the situation, but most of you are not AWARE about it. unless you actually witness it in real you won't be able to that that it really exists. i agree with amartya sen ,who in his nobel winning study wrote that " the essence of poverty lies in the lack of opportunities".
i'm saying this with so much conviction because , you and i are here posting photographs ,coz we have the opportunity to do so. millions of people don't have the opportunity to education, food, clothing and shelter. so we should be grateful for what we have. this particular photograph was taken in a place called connaught place in new delhi. this pair of father and daughter have made this market place their home. i see them begging everytime i go there. i'm posting this photograph here coz i know that most of you will feel the agony. this sight is so common in india and the other developing nations that their citizens have become quite immune to it. the main focus of this pic is on the girl.i've purposely tried to make the photograph dark .didnt want to bring in all her features,just wanted to capture a kind of a silhouette and her eyes. you should look at other things as well. notice the frail body of her father ,notice the ribs which are visible coz of not being able to eat. notice the talisman and the shawl(woollen piece of cloth) this photograph was taken in december, the climate in india is very extreme , in the summers hundreds of people die coz of heat waves, where as in the winters they die of the cold. i don't know where this pair spends the nights, but i guess it's on the pavement outside the shops like all the other beggars.
NOTE:the darkness is intended as in a lot of parts in india a girl child is considered a burden and a lot of injustice is done to her e.g female infanticide. so in a nutshell her life is kept in DARKNESS

Burnham, pridel, Proxilva, Galeota, eleparc, Garry01, waysai, kinginexile, Beckii, Riz, robiuk, scalerman, manerist, sengir, Ramonven, kajspice has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Burnham (2426) 2004-05-16 6:34

Really good note Sohrab, one that makes me feel SO incredibly lucky, I am aware of poverty, and very much so, but being reminded is always good. It just makes you wish you could do something, more. This is one of these days whre I wish I could give more than two points, because the note and the picture is so striking, it's sounds wiered saying I really like the contour of the fathers body, but I have to be technical and you've captured it so well.

By the way, you were right I did love www.stijndecorte.com, he is really good, I will be looking more closely at it later - and the sseries of House of the dying is beautiful, he has managed to get joy and gratitude into some of these documentery shots, like pic 5.

RGatward (19737) 2004-05-16 7:02

Yes, you didn't need to explain the darkness, I got the point from the rest of the note. This is a really well thought out shot, which makes it's point very elloquently. This goes straight into my favourites.

Proxilva (2157) 2004-05-16 7:41

it soo good you document this Sohrab... here in holland i can only document the small wealth problems we have and the groing amount of drug-addicts...i know i should feel lucky that we are not accustommed to see this kind of things on the street, but i'm not. i believe this would be an eye-opener for all the loaded silliconbotoxbitches who only care about their wrinkles... there's no wealth whitout poverty... proost!!!

torben (3084) 2004-05-16 7:49

The darkness of the photo works very well in my opinion and it doesn't need to be justified by any symbolism. Still the note is an important and informative story, that is good to have along with this great photo.

Galeota (10329) 2004-05-16 11:28

Sohrab, your photos are amongst those that I remember the most. Because the eyes of the forgotten ones, and the feelings that come out of their look, go far beyond an image printed on a piece of paper. Excellent photograph with an excellent note.

roshangar (1485) 2004-05-16 13:08

I like the darkness,it works very ood and show you can break the usuall formols in you picturs,congratulation!

eleparc (24059) 2004-05-16 18:47

as usual very powerful note sohrab and you defend your point very clearly and smartly:-) out of the dark shot comes out one very strong white eye... WOW! a very impacting shot sohrab! congrats!

Garry01 (0) 2004-05-17 4:35

the photograph is really excellent it is true, but it goes beyond the hotograph ..
it is a true message of love and courage.
>
thank's sohrab.

waysai (607) 2004-05-20 0:17

hi sohrab - very touching images and stories. This is one of many untold social problems exists in under-developing countries. I am surprised India - one of the fastest developing nations has many unfortunite children on the streets. I usually don't like the darkness but in this one it makes the girl eye so scare, powerless and full of suffering. Real thoughtout presentation.

nygus (8077) 2004-05-20 4:47

simply kicks ass

kaychambers (1196) 2004-08-25 2:52

Very powerful imagery and a poignant note. Simply outstanding Sohrab!

Regards,

Vic, Singapore.

kinginexile (2440) 2004-09-12 19:04 [Comment]

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Beckii (60) 2004-10-04 2:10

This is a great shot Sohrab, as a Teacher it distresses me when children (or adults)are denied an education, whether that be because of poverty, colour, gender or parental disbelief in the education system. You have truly captured the mood with this photograph both from the composition and the density of the black and white, iI can only aspire to capture this amount of feeling in my pictures, This is one of my favourites for sure! :-)

Riz (0) 2004-10-28 9:18

The dark look of the overall photo works very well with the white of her eye, superb composition and a very impacting poignant story you bring to this as well I think the
Galeota said "Sohrab, your photos are amongst those that I remember the most" it true I have been looking at the style and the notes you write, you bring a lot to TE, keep up the great work Sohrab!

scalerman (25611) 2004-11-24 14:23

the shot is disturbing, of course. you're notes are great - a decent read, and more to mull over.

maciekda (19587) 2004-11-24 17:13

ha, this one is interesting i must admit, why? because of this eye, surprising detail, this one i like more than other 3. but maybe a bit too dark ;)

Ramonven (124) 2005-01-09 11:16

What a little angel Sohrab... You have captured a feeling here that for me is hard to express in words, but there is something here that goes right trough me... We can only do so much in a lifetime... It makes me wonder for the future... Take care, Ramon

kokoro-zukai (277) 2009-07-17 0:36