Premium
This is an archive article published on December 1, 2008

Street Talk

Mumbai is a picture of contrasts. The poverty is like the ocean around you. It never leaves your sight,8221; sighs veteran photographer Ketaki Sheth, pointing to one of her works.

.

Mumbai is a picture of contrasts. The poverty is like the ocean around you. It never leaves your sight,8221; sighs veteran photographer Ketaki Sheth, pointing to one of her works. The picture in question, Pilgrim and Schoolboy, shows a holy man casually stepping out of a river after a dip, while a school boy dressed in shorts and shirt walks past, clutching his school bag. Sheth8217;s dramatic photographs on Mumbai8217;s street life are from her exhibition 8216;Street Seen8217;, currently on at the Max Mueller Bhawan. They also feature in her booknbsp;on street life, Bombay Mix, which released in October 2007.

8220;Once I returned from London in 1999, I sifted through my images on Mumbai8217;s street life and made prints ofnbsp;what I thought was decent.nbsp;After getting a sense of what was lacking, I went to photograph the mood. This effort forms the book,8221; says Sheth, 51. For some

images, Sheth developed a rapport with her subjects. For instance, the dingy neighbourhood where Sheth shot 12 images. A picture, Angel and Imp, captures a fair, beautiful girl, dressed in a vibrant dress, staring blankly at the floor, while another girl in a shabby attire laughs almost mockingly at the camera. An old woman rests in the background, completely oblivious to the two. 8220;The people were friendly here. I could interact freely with the residents,8221; she explains, turning her attention to another picture. This one, titled Flower girl at a Shiva Temple, is close to her heart. A girl rests against the wall of a temple, twiddling her fingers with a subtle play of light and shadow. 8220;This girl was sitting outside a temple. I captured her, not knowing what I shot. Twenty years later I bumped into the same girl and she was married. She still twiddled her thumb,8221; smiles Sheth.nbsp;

nbsp;

The exhibition is on till December 15

 

Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement