1980s : "tea boy", Calcutta/Kolkata Photo

Photographer’s Note

Another scan from an old print of a slide :
Date uncertain as I returned to then Calcutta (Kolkata) each time I was travelling in India since 1978... Probably before 1983, because this was taken with a small "Minox".

Was always fascinated by those tiny stores, "holes in the walls" - does this one, in Sudder street still exist ? Things are moving fast ! (NB : the child was not the boss and not working there, just sitting for a while to let his father, the real boss, go to some business not far away, neighbour shopkeeper was watching too)

...................

papagolf21, faubry, japiey, rigoletto, hgupta, Bruno40, adelune, achakladar, photographer123, crckt, trekks, bapun1, manatee, AmiBe, ChrisJ, banyanman, MarcT, pablominto, Partha_c has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dilane (10053) 2008-01-20 14:09

Très belle scène témoignage - Je vous souhaite, chère voisine d'un soir, un bien beau séjour en Inde - Ramène nous de belles photos - à très bientôt - on a hâte de voir tes images -
amitiés
daniel

papagolf21 (54118) 2008-01-20 14:40

Bonsoir, Catherine,
Vieille photo, mais qui n'a rien perdu de sa valeur et de son intérêt !
Je crains bien que si vous deviez revenir sur les lieux, le changement ne serait pas manifeste !
Une photographie qui entre tout à fait dans l'esprit de TE, apprendre par la photographie.
Merci du partage, Catherine.
Amitiés.
Philippe

bucanas (2207) 2008-01-20 14:59

Hi Catherine,
Beautiful composition,beautiful colors.Congratulation.
Best regards,
Ralf

lousat (11400) 2008-01-20 15:01

I imagine how will be happy this child to see this pic now !! Your style is wonderfull,have a nice day,Luciano

japiey (9453) 2008-01-20 19:05

Hi Dear Cath,

Beautifull image.
Life in Calcutta (Kolkata)... in the 1980's...
The boy is very curious here..
This shot reminds me of your one of the earlier posts too, from Kolkata,THE SHOE MENDER, where you show another face of life..

Excellent.
Wish you the best.

jean paul

cknara (516) 2008-01-20 21:14

Wonderful capture Catherine.The style of the shops are all similar in towns.I don't know about this shop..But such similar one exists all over India.

BTW,if you come to Chennai during your India visit,just let me know..

Thanks
Nara

aadilj (16701) 2008-01-20 22:56

Thats exquisite and considering it was taken while I was still in school makes i all the more special to me. i love the earth tones of the seventies India and the idyllic lifestyle. Great work Cath. Bravo...I hope you dig out more such gems.

wolf38 (11029) 2008-01-20 23:20

Hello Catherine. An interesting photo from the world of the work. A world in the small one. For short time the boy is the boss. The picture is worth seeing also because there is so much to regard. Your photo is beautifully and documentarily valuable. Best regards, Wolfgang.

rigoletto (24062) 2008-01-20 23:25

My God!
Cath, you sometimes become a real killer with your photos. But as a true wanderer, you ought to have seen such places and faces and taken such photos. The date! The kid is now older than me, and i only have to respect this 28 year old photo!
Great details ands great share.
Congrats & hugs :))
Deniz

delkoo (31658) 2008-01-21 0:01

bonjour catherine
cette photo ancienne est encore plus envoutante, les couleurs un peu cremeuse du mur et le bric a brac qui entoure le petit garçon sont un regal.

je te souhaite un excellent voyage et a bientôt.

didier

Bruno40 (6050) 2008-01-21 0:29

Great scan Catherine. This is a fascinating snap of daily life in Kolkata.
I would have tried also a portrait format.
Good work
Jorge
PS: have fun in your trip

hgupta (1320) 2008-01-21 0:37

Cath,

Fantastic composition is all I can say. Amazing beauty among chaos. Nice colors and light. The kid looks real sweet.Real classy shot.
Regards,

Hemant

adelune (2) 2008-01-21 0:52

Une telle richesse de détails dans un espace si restreint! Etonnant! Merci Catherine pour ce très intéressant cliché! Admiration! alain

faubry (31481) 2008-01-21 1:14

Bonsoir Catherine, un tres bon scan, des couleurs chaudes, une ambiance de vie simple et vraie, je te souhaite un tres bon voyage et rapporte de belles photos comme d habitude... a bientot j espere, amities
francine

zig (2450) 2008-01-21 5:40

Hi Catherine. This is very appealing photo to me. I see the other world in the photo, and it tells me how different we are. You showed me very important point here. "How do people live in the other place?" Very interesting. Thanks for posting it.

achakladar (761) 2008-01-21 8:19

Woooooooow ! This photo makes me home sick, miss the lemon tea dished out in these places !

photographer123 (5435) 2008-01-21 8:35

hi ..
wow..27years old shot!!!!still looking good..I can c my old kolkata...very well done...subir

crckt (6846) 2008-01-21 8:40

Hi Cath,
A shot from my hometown! and I really love it. You are leaving for India. I wish you a very happy and safe journey.
All the best,
Shaeri

jonathan_hart (21637) 2008-01-21 9:12

bonjour Catherine
bien calé dans son coin, la photo est amusante, bon voyage ;)
amicalement
jo

trekks (14230) 2008-01-21 11:00

Hi Cath

This is good quality from 1980! Very good color contrast and very telling on the details all over the wall.

Such sharpness and clarity. Well done and thanks for sharing it.

Cheers, bill

manatee (4205) 2008-01-22 0:16

Exquisit picture, the little boy sitting is so interesting I wondering how they use all this things they put in this shells and how will be the taste of this tea, how much the father will earn there and many other things like this, is always interesitn to see the rest of the objets. Another thing, this picture looks like if you tooked yesterday, looks very clean and sharp.

Have a good start of week
Take care

Elias

AmiBe (6042) 2008-01-22 12:48

Bonsoir Catherine,
quelle image ! Tant de choses à voir ici et quelles couleurs !
Magnifique l'enfant au milieu de tout ça !
Bon voyage

Silvio1953 (36421) 2008-01-23 5:47

Ciao Caterina, altra bella e caratteristica immagine, in questo buco sul muro c'è di tutto, anche uno splendido ragazzo, ottima qualità per essere uno scan, brava, con Amicizia
Silvio

ChrisJ (65367) 2008-01-24 0:38

Salut Catherine

Wow! early 1980's! A superb image, for such an old shot. A marvellous daily life scene, with good sharpness, & the boy well placed in the frame. Merci pour ce partage.

everlasting (10876) 2008-01-25 1:53

I also remember these hole in the wall chai shops in calcutta, sometimes you would have to sit on the other sider of the road, there wasnt room to sit on the same side and the chai wallah would run the tea acroos in glasses or terracotta cups. dotn see many of them anymore either. A nice touch of nostalgia this morning with a well scanned image.

ninaL (18631) 2008-01-26 0:35

Bonjour, Catherine.
C'est une scène extraordinaire.
Toute la vie de la famille est là, dans ce coin de la cuisine où le petit garçon a chosi de s'assoir. C'est touchant et riche en informations.
Bonne réalisation, vraiment.
Amitiés, Grazyna.

ayansadhu (1489) 2008-01-26 8:02

Madam, would love to get in touch with you once you are in India because shot clearly speaks volumes of your mental attachment with the pulse of our country's basic lifestyle...
This is a great image with all the ambiance of a tea-stall in reality!!!
Sorry for having run out of smileys today

toto (17589) 2008-01-28 14:33

Belle photo de cet endroit mystérieux pour nous mais combien important pour ces pauvres gens qui sont chez eux.
Jolies couleurs et bonne netteté qui nous montre bien l' état de misère dans lequel vivent ces gens.
Cela me touche beaucoup ce genre de photo et je me réjouis de ma petite vie avec tout le confort que j' ai et je me dis que j' ai bien de la chance.
Il est vrai que ces gens eux même se trouvent peut être chanceux par rapport a d' autres, je trouve que grâce a votre photo, peut être que beaucoup de gens serons content de leur situations et se sentirons bien.
Amitiés Thomas

banyanman (7691) 2008-01-28 15:30

Wow, I wish my 1980s slides were in as good condition as this, Cath (alas they aren't). What an incredibly interesting photograph. So much detail to feast the eyes on. You've really captured the atmosphere of the Indian chai shops in this picture. Hope you are enjoying your latest trip to India. Cheers . . . David

mesutilgim (33870) 2008-01-29 9:56

Hi dear Cath !
Wonderfull this "oldie" .
I missed your entries for some time, due to a surgery I had to undergo. Now I'm well as well. This little boy (than) should be now in his thirties; where and und wich circumstances he may live now ?
TFS and my warmest regards from cold İstanbul
MESUT ILGIM

prumod (8237) 2008-02-05 10:26

hi cath...
it's nice to see this old photo with old colors.... it's contrast is interesting and interesting to note that you've a long travel history!
greetings...

Burberry1 (6041) 2008-02-17 6:14

A beautiful way of capturing the everyday life scene.
Great quality and details!!

Kind regards from Poland Catherine.

Agnieszka

MarcT (20231) 2008-02-17 8:39

Salut Cath,
Mais où es-tu donc? Je guette ta production et rien depuis cette image. Elle est très intéressante comme d'habitude mais fort seule depuis 1 mois.
Amitiés
Marc

pablominto (35973) 2008-02-19 11:32

Hello Catherine,
An interesting streeside capture, showing a lot of everyday details!
The age of the image adds interest value, even if the scenery might look pretty much the same today...
Fine colour reproduction!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Stepan (27163) 2008-02-20 23:19

Le "style" vieille photo a beaucoup de charme ici et donne beaucoup de cachet... C'est très sympa et cette cuisine est... impressionnante de chaos organisé !!
Stéphane

rbcy1974 (20732) 2008-02-21 3:16

Bonjour
Une scene superbe
j'aime bien la qualite des detailles que sont autour du gamin aisni que cete jaune que domine la photo
tres bien vu
A+
Daniel

marietom (29890) 2008-02-22 7:54

Salut Catherine,

Un moment que je n'étais pas passée dans ta galerie, où les images me font toujours autant rêver !
Superbe, celle-ci, pleine de détails, et dans mes teintes préférées !
Bonne soirée
Marie

Partha_c (1985) 2008-02-27 3:01

Hi Catherine. Nice to be back to see you posting many great shots. This one I picked up mainly to find you somewhere around the city where I started living again after two decades. Missed you here, missed you in Hyderabad, missed you in India too during your recent trip. But the shots do convey your presence everywhere smeared with your emotional touch and attachment. Stories narrated in your unique style -- a treat for the eyes. See you again. Regards.
Partha

Vasa (1388) 2008-10-19 10:54

C'est un image qu'on ne voit pas en une minute. Si on a de curiosite personnelle. Encore une photo qui a eleve le niveau de l'interet de la galerie de l'Inde. Comme je disais il y a bien longtemps, il est precieux de t'avoir dans son equipe. Tu marques bien les buts. En belles couleurs et apres des actions imaginatives. Je suis bien content de m'avoir promene ce soir dans ta galerie, chere Catherine.

Branko