***TINY MERCHANT***, a photo from West Bengal, East

Photographer's Note

With credible estimates ranging from 60 to 115 million, India has the largest number of working children in the world. Whether they are sweating in the heat of stone quarries, working in the fields sixteen hours a day, picking rags in city streets, or hidden away as domestic servants, these children endure miserable and difficult lives. They earn little and are abused much. They struggle to make enough to eat and perhaps to help feed their families as well. They do not go to school; more than half of them will never learn the barest skills of literacy. Many of them have been working since the age of four or five, and by the time they reach adulthood they may be irrevocably sick or deformed-they will certainly be exhausted, old men and women by the age of forty, likely to be dead by fifty.....
Most or all of these children are working under some form of compulsion, whether from their parents, from the expectations attached to their caste, or from simple economic necessity. At least fifteen million of them, however, are workingas virtual slaves.3 These are the bonded child laborers of India. This report is about them.

India has 375 million children, more than any other country in the world. Their condition has improved in the last five decades, with child survival rates up, school dropout rates down, and several policy commitments made by the government at the national and international levels. Resource allocations by the State, however, remain quite inadequate to take care of the survival and healthcare needs of infants and children, their education, development and protection.....
***I SHOT IT IN GANGASAGAR,WEST BENGAL INDIA...FOCAL LENGTH=36MM APPROX....***
This shot is one of my favorite one…I posted this shot before…but due to some technical problems,TREKEARTH deleted it from my gallery.So after correction I post it again to share it with you all…hope you like it…

faganrodney, japiey, isabela_sor, Paolo, quetzal, vincz, nirajsinha, sabyasachi1212, kiks, sunilshukla, kiwi_explorer, patdeph has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

alagarcia (252) 2007-07-19 7:51

nice picture and really good commentary.I like her look
regards
alicja

faganrodney (489) 2007-07-19 7:54

Great angle to capture her eyes. Very interesting express, well done Rodney

partha (14023) 2007-07-19 7:58

Very good facial expression. Good take.
partha

nithin1 (242) 2007-07-19 8:05

A Very genuine photo; so real, subir. and beautifully captured too! Am curious what did her blue mat contain towards the left..! And very nice of you to include the detailed note.!

japiey (10163) 2007-07-19 8:06

Subir.

You really know how and when to capture such beautifull expressions...congrats..

Composed in a beautifull format, the atmosphere is well established. The body language of the kid is very touching... LITTLE CHILD, MY WISHES TO YOU ALSO..

Salutes..
jean paul

Paolo (41258) 2007-07-19 8:56

Hi Subir, amazing portrait with this girl with fantastic deep eyes, a colorful composition and good quality.
thanks, ciao

ohe (2334) 2007-07-19 9:05

Dear Subir,
Merchant's eyes are really attractive !!
POV is very well chosen.
Thanks for sharing,
- Olivier -

mossphoto (604) 2007-07-19 9:22

Subir-

What incredible eyes you have captured in the photo of this little girl. Additionally, you have included an enlightening note to go with it.

Child labor is one of the many issues with India today. I thank you for using TE to continue to help India come into the modern era.

Photographically, the composition & POV are well executed. Again though, the eyes tell the whole story!

TFS

~Vic~

quetzal (3665) 2007-07-19 10:17

Hello Subir,
I like this kind of shot with so pretty model and trying to explain and convince people that there are a lot of problrms in the world. In this case we are talking about working children. And we hope that this message will be understood.
Have a good evening
Jean-louis

jasmis (58653) 2007-07-19 11:17

Really incredible look of a girl. Superb shot.
Regards!

sabyasachi1212 (19779) 2007-07-19 22:30

Hi Subir,
Those eyes, simply fantastic, and holds the attention. Everything else pales in significance.
Best Wishes
Sabyasachi

vincz (19113) 2007-07-20 0:29

This is a top class picture. So much representative of your so specific style. I love the colours, I love the expression of the girl, I like so much your POV. In my favorites. Thanks Subir.

isabela_sor (47748) 2007-07-20 0:42

I remember her very very well !!!your high POV makes her expression more impressivethe details are so clear and amazinggg. ....Dear Subir,sometimes the rules of TE are .....no more words :)
Hugs

sunilshukla (844) 2007-07-20 2:47

Oh those eyes, and not 2 forget her smile. Lively photo Subir.
Sunil

kiks (12805) 2007-07-20 2:51

Hi Subir,

thank you to show us and hopefully to move us to do something about this sad situation. Yes, we can do something buy looking what we buy and get shore that are childfrendly products!

Your note is very moving and your image very touching specialy with this strong eyes.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH for sharing
Kiks

kiwi_explorer (12209) 2007-07-20 2:59

Hi Subir,
Those eyes is so piercing ... well captured. Very good skin tone and contrast. Wonderfully composed with good image and color quality. Excellent work! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

oochappan (4880) 2007-07-20 4:10

Hi Subir,
her big white gazing eyes are indeed the eyecatcher here looking up to you/us with a fine smile, I do like the explicit colorsetting to give a more dramatic graphical feel of her salesware and the surroundings while you still stay really near to the reality here, a bit super-reality. The note is quite informative but a bit unpersonal.
Henk

devimeuxbe (58557) 2007-08-01 9:38

Hi Subir
The glance of this child is very interesting
You also have a nice perspective.
I really like this picture
Bertrand

prumod (8300) 2007-08-02 5:40

hi subir...
her expression you captured beautifully,.. pov and frame are perfect for her posture... marvelous contrast too...
greetings...

KKar (486) 2007-08-06 3:14

Oh those eyes
SHould I say more?
My favorite too.
Kostas

verrefietsers (240) 2007-09-02 4:20

Hi
What a colors and those eyes...
very well done!

patdeph (35750) 2007-10-09 11:48

namaste Subir
it's a wonderful photo with a fantastis expression of the little girl!The colours are superb,with the blue and the necklaces,and you had a very original POV!Magnificent!
Have a nice evening.
Pascale

Photo Information

Copyright: SUBIR BASAK (photographer123) (6248)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-01-14
Categories: Daily Life
Exposure: f/4, 1/640 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: GANGASAGAR MELA
Theme(s): CHILDREN OF INDIA, your's favorite, MY FAVORITE.... [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-07-19 7:47
Favorites: 2 [view]