Themes

(a working title...)

Dedicated to the self-employed ragpicker women of Ramapir Tekra slum in Ahmedabad.

They leave their homes at 5am - some of whom return at 4pm to bring home a meagre 60rupees. They will collect anything from Newspapers, water pouches, glass & cardboard.

These are strong, independent, progressive women..though overlooked in society. They play a huge role in keeping the streets of Ahmedabad clean. Many are the sole income generators...many of them widows...

This series is about Nanda. She is a widow, in her late 20's/early 30's (she was not too sure when I asked her).

Nanda lost her husband to Typhoid two months ago. She is a mother of six, two of whom were twins of 1.5 months when I first started to photograph them. She lost her seventh child to Typhoid.

I am reflecting the sadness that I see amongst people who are caught up in a (presumable) 9-5 routine, which seems to be combatted by a binge-drinking weekend. Too much disposable income, relaxed laws on crime, almost absent family values...all these lead to a society which I am witnessing "falling apart"...

The characteristics of a typical Belgrave Bahen (the "o "is plural), is a saree, a cardigan and hair tied back (usually in a bun). Although the title of my project is "the Belgrave Baheno", I would refer to them as masis (aunty, or mum's sister...a term of respect which is automatically given to elder women).

Belgrave is an area in Leicester, where the majority of Leicester's Indian population live.

Leicester gained a large population of immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, and Uganda in the early 1970s. These immigrant groups make up around 40% of Leicester's population, making Leicester one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United Kingdom. Leicester is expected by 2012 to become the first major city in Britain in which the ethnic minority population will form a majority.

These photos reflect my observations of the migrants and their descendents...

We pretty much freestyled our way around Leicester city for this shoot...our main objectives were to:

a) get to know each-other (our first meeting - aar!)

b) get some ruddy good photos!

c) not get drenched in the rain...!

Looking at the results, its clear that we both had separate visions and although we have some photos of the same subjects, our cameras picked them up very differently...

This series was taken at the funeral of someone who I have known since I was a baby...however, he was a complete stranger to me...

He was always a lost soul and had always found it very difficult to relate to others...he had very few friends. He spent the last few years of his life as an alcoholic.

The general concencus is "he was not for this world and he is now at peace..."

om namah shivaya...