Digging the World of Recycle

The India Photo Archive Foundation aims to encourage amateur/professional photographers, and engage a wider discourse on the content, politics and aesthetics of photography.

City-based photographer Swarat Ghosh was awarded ‘The Neel Dongre Award for Excellence in Photography’ at an exhibition in New Delhi

The Neel Dongre Awards for Excellence in Photography aims to create a visual platform, where photographers can get an opportunity to showcase their work to relevant audience and get noticed, receive funds to support their projects, required equipment, and study material to further support their passion.

This year the group exhibition held at India International Centre, Delhi last month was curated by Aditya Arya and the collective theme was “The World of Recycle”. Nine photographers had come together to focus their lens on the issue. City-based photographer Swarat Ghosh was one among the members who participated.

About his theme ‘Rag- pickers– The secret environmentalist’
Swarat says, “Before starting this assignment, I always used to wonder where our daily garbage goes. BK Guda Basti (my shooting location) was introduced to me by my photographer friend and then I kept going to this place and incidentally met these two ladies.

My encounter with a mother-daughter duo, who are rag pickers, inspired me to dig deeper into their daily lives and also shoot the series ‘The Silent environmentalist’. The reason for naming the series ‘Silent environmentalist’ is People normally assume that municipalities are responsible for waste management, but based on the records these rag-pickers have a prominent role when it comes to managing waste in every city at primary level.

They are the secret environmentalists. They may not be aware of it or may not even understand the term, but they are 300,000 rag-pickers who perform a vital role for the society and the city.”

About his photos he says, “Most of my story was captured in BKGuda Basti, backside of Balkampet area. Out of the 75 that I sent, 15 were eventually selected for the exhibition.”

“Some serious thought needs to be put into this aspect concerning the future of lakhs of rag-pickers including children. The state government needs to invest in new waste disposing technologies so that these issues can be dealt with efficiently.

As individuals, we need to make sure that we minimize our waste. In the name of modernity and development, let us not ignore the harsh realities that are a part of our society and do affect us in some way or the other,” adds Swarat.

By:Askari Jaffer