Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Young Woman + City Slum, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, 2016


This is the second face from our series in that Gurgaon neighborhood, rewarding our initiative to find the families from last year. As described in the previous post, we drove to Gurgaon from Mewat on a hunch and found this slum with the help of a sincere colleague. 

She however was a new discovery for us, as she walked up to the commotion happening around the photography. Out of the corner of my eye her features appeared, and my heart stopped. We had to act delicately, because doing so in another way would perhaps push her away. So we decided to photograph the girls in order, and included her very cautiously. She accepted with a smile, knowing full well that I wanted to photograph her.

So when her turn came up and she actually stepped up, my heart regained its composure. Now many will think, 'what's so special about her?' Those who see her strength in this image will never ask such a question. For those unable to do so, there is little that I can say to answer their question.

For me, she is as perfect as any in my work, equal and different at the same time. Her features are unlike any from my experience, truly captivating. My hope is that the world around her will treat her community with more kindness, and that the inequity she experiences every single day will be a thing of the past soon. Until then the work will continue!


Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

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