M. Palani Kumar

Kiruba H. B.

Translator

Satya Sainath

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Photography
has always been inaccessible to marginalised communities, not least because a
camera is unaffordable for them. Recognising this struggle, I wanted to fill
the gap and bring photography within reach of the younger generation of marginalised
communities – particularly Dalits, fisherfolk, the trans community, minority
Muslim communities and others who have been facing oppression for generations. 

I
wanted my students to tell their own little-known stories. In these workshops
they are photographing things in their daily lives. These are their own
stories, very close to their heart. They enjoy having the camera and shooting.
I want them to do that and think about framing and angles later. 

The
photos they click of their lives; they are different.

When they show me the photos, I also discuss the
politics of the photo and what it says about the situation. After the workshop
they become aware of bigger socio-political issues.

Nandha Kumar

Most
photos are close ups and only they can get that close since it is their family
and home. Anyone else is an outsider and will have to keep some distance. They
don’t, as they have already built that trust with the subjects.  

With
the help of like-minded people, I bought cameras for the trainees – a firsthand
experience of a DSLR camera will eventually help them professionally.

Some
of the work they have produced is under the theme, ‘Reframed - North Chennai
through the lens of Young Residents’. It is meant as an alarm to society to
break and reconstruct the stereotypical image of north Chennai as an industrial
hub, as seen by people from the outside. 

Twelve
young people (age group 16-21) who are children of sanitation workers from
Manjamedu, Madurai took part in a 10-day workshop with me. It was the
first-ever such workshop for children of this marginalised community. During
the workshop, students witnessed the working conditions of their parents, for
the first time. They felt the urge to tell their story to the world. 

I
also conducted a three-month workshop for seven fisherwomen in Ganjam, Odisha
and eight fisherwomen in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. Ganjam is an area that has
been widely affected by continuous sea erosion. Nagapattinam is a coastal area
with more migrant workers and fishermen who are frequently attacked by the Sri
Lankan naval forces. 

These workshops led to photographs of the unique
challenges they see around them.

Ch. Pratima, 22 Field staff at Dakshin Foundation Podampeta, Ganjam, Odisha

Taking
photos allowed me to show respect for my community&#39;s work and brought me closer
to the people around me. 



One
of my favourite photos is of children playfully flipping a boat in the estuary.
I realised the power of photography to freeze a moment in time. 



I
captured a photo of a member of my fishing community salvaging materials from
their home which has been damaged by sea erosion. The photo shows the
challenges faced by marginalised communities due to climate change and I am
very happy I took it. 



When I received the camera for the first time, I
didn’t think I would be able to handle it. I felt like I was carrying a heavy
machine. It was a completely new experience. I used to take random photos with
my mobile, but this workshop opened my eyes to the art of building rapport and
telling stories through photographs. Initially the theoretical aspects of
photography were confusing but after the field workshop and hands-on experience
with the camera, everything started to click, and I could apply the class
theory to the real world.

Ch. Pratima

P. Indra, 22 Student of BSc Physics, Dr. Ambedkar
Evening Education Centre 
Arapalayam, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 

“Document
yourselves, your surroundings and your people while they are at work.” 

That
was what Palani anna told me when he
handed me the camera. I was thrilled to be here as my father had first denied
me permission to join the workshop and it took some persuasion to get him to
agree. Eventually he became the subject of my photography. 

I
live among sanitation workers. Like my father, they too find themselves trapped
in hereditary employment due to the oppressive caste system. Before attending
the workshop I wasn’t aware of their work and challenges, despite my father
being one. The only thing I was told was to study well and get a state job, and
never ever become a sanitary worker – our school teacher would keep telling
us.  

I
finally understood my father’s job when I accompanied him to work for two to
three days and documented him. I saw the hostile conditions in which sanitary
workers toil – handling domestic waste and toxic waste without proper gloves
and boots. They are expected to arrive by six a.m. sharp, and if they arrive a
second late, they are treated in an inhumane way by the contractors and
authorities under whom they work. 

My
camera showed me what I failed to notice with my eyes about my own life. In
that sense, it was the opening of a third eye. When I photographed my father,
he shared with me his daily struggles and how he has been trapped to do this
job since his youth days. These conversations strengthened the bond between us.


This workshop was a major turning point in all
our lives.

P. Indra

Suganthi Manickavel, 27 Fisherwoman Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu

The camera changed my perspective.
Holding a camera made me feel independent and confident. It made me interact
with a lot of people. Even though I had lived in Nagapattinam my entire life, this was my first visit to
the harbour with a camera. 

I
documented my father, Manickavel, aged 60 who has been fishing since the age of
five. His toes have become numb due to prolonged exposure to saltwater; he now
has limited blood circulation in them but still fishes every day to provide for
us. 



Poopathy
amma, 56, is from Vellapallam. In 2002, her husband was killed by Sri Lankan
naval forces and since then she has started to buy and sell fish in order to
survive. Another fisherwoman I photographed was Thangammal whose husband has
rheumatism and their children go to school, so she took up selling fish on the
streets of Nagapattinam. Women from Palangallimedu catch fish using prawn traps
and from the sea;I documented both livelihoods. 



Even
though I was born in a fishing village, after a certain age I hardly visited
the shore. When I began to document through photographs, I was able to
understand my community and the struggles we face in our day to day lives.

I consider this workshop as one of the biggest opportunities
in my life.

Suganthi Manickavel

Laxmi M., 42 Fisherwoman Thirumullaivasal,
Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu

When photographer Palani came to the
fishing village, Thirumullaivasal to train fisherwomen, we were all nervous
about what we would be photographing and how we would be doing it. But as soon
as we held the camera in our hands, these worries disappeared and we became
more confident and began to believe in ourselves. 

When we went to the shore to take
pictures of the sky, beach and other things around, on the first day, we were
interrupted by the village chief who questioned what we were doing. He refused
to listen to what we were saying, and seemed keen on stopping us from taking
photographs. When we moved to the next village Chinnakutty, we sought prior
permission from the village president to stop such hindrances. 

Palani always insists that we
reshoot blurry photos;this helps us understand and rectify the mistakes. I
learnt that I must not hastily take decisions or act. It was a very nurturing
experience.

Noor Nisha
K., 17 B.Voc
Digital Journalism, Loyola college Thiruvottriyur,
North Chennai, Tamil Nadu

When I was handed a camera for the
first time, I did not know the big changes it would bring. I can safely say
that my life can be classified into two parts – before and after photography. I
lost my father at a very young age and ever since my mother has been struggling
to provide for us. 

Through the lens, Palani anna showed me a world that looked
completely different and new to me. I understood that the photos we capture are
not just mere photographs but that they are documents through which we can
question injustice. 

He often tells us only one thing: “Believe in
photography, it will meet your needs.” I have found this to be true and now I
can support my mother who can’t go out to work at times.

Noor Nisha K.

S. Nandhini, 17 Journalism student at M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women  Vyasarpadi, North Chennai, Tamil
Nadu 



My very first subjects were the
children who were playing near my home. I captured their joyful faces while
they were at play. I learnt how to look at the world through the camera. I
understood that the visual language is one that can be easily comprehended. 

At times, on a photo walk you’d
encounter something you didn’t expect and I don’t have the heart to move from
there. Photography brings me joy, the kind that one experiences in familial
warmth. 

One
day, while I was studying at Dr. Ambedkar Pagutharivu Padasalai, we were taken
on a trip to Dr. Ambedkar Memorial. On that trip the photos spoke to me. Palani
anna had documented the death of a
manual scavenger and his family who were grieving. The photos of family members
conveyed their yearning, loss and grief precisely in a way words can’t. When we
met him there, he encouraged us saying that we were also capable of taking such
photographs. 



When
he began taking classes I couldn’t attend because I was on a school tour.
Nevertheless, upon my return, he taught me separately and encouraged me to take
photographs. I had no prior knowledge on how a
camera works but Palani anna taught
me. He also guided us by letting us explore the subject of our photography. I
gained a lot of new perspectives and experience in this journey. 

My photography experience made me choose
journalism.

S. Nandhini

V. Vinothini,
19 Student of Bachelors of Computer Application Vyasarpadi,
North Chennai, Tamil Nadu

I&#39;ve been familiar with my
neighbourhood for all these years, but I gained a fresh outlook when I looked
at it through my camera. “The photographs should capture the life of your
subjects,” says Palani anna. When he
shares his experiences, one can see the love he has for photographs, stories
and for the people. My favourite memory of his is the one in which he
photographs his mother, a fisherwoman, on a button phone.

The first photo that I took was the
family photograph of my neighbour on Diwali. It came out very well. Then, I
continued to document my town through the stories and experiences of my people.


Without photography, I would have
never had the opportunity to see myself.

P. Poonkodi Fisherwoman Seruthur, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu

It’s
been 14 years since I got married. Since then, I haven’t gone to the sea shore
in my own native village. But my camera took me to the sea. I documented how
boats are pushed into the sea, the fishing process and the contribution of
women to the community. 

It
is easy to train someone to merely click photographs but to train a
photographer to tell stories through images is no small thing; Palani does that
for us. He explained how we should build rapport with people before
photographing them in our training. I felt confident to photograph people.

I
went on to document the various occupations of the fishing community which
includes selling, cleaning and auctioning of fish. This opportunity also helped
me witness and understand the lifestyle of women in the community who work as
vendors. This job requires them to balance heavy baskets full of fish on their
heads.

In
my photo story on Kuppuswamy, I came to learn about his life – how he was shot
at by the Sri Lankan navy in the sea while he was fishing along the borders. He
lost his limbs and also his speech as a result.

I
visited him and followed him as he went about his daily chores like washing
clothes, gardening and cleaning. I understood the difficulties he had to face
as he can’t rely on his hands and legs. He showed me that he was happiest doing
mundane chores. He was not worried that his disability denied him the outside
world, and sometimes he said he feels an emptiness that makes him want to die. 

I
did a photo series on fishermen catching sardines. Sardines usually get caught
in hundreds and so handling them in itself becomes a major challenge. I
documented how men and women work together to remove these fish from the nets
and store it in ice boxes. 

It
is a challenge as a woman photographer and despite being from the community, we
get questions such as, ‘why are you photographing them? Why should women
photograph?’

Palani anna
is the major force behind this fisherwoman who identifies herself as a
photographer now.

P. Poonkodi

Mohamed Mubharakh A

Palani Studio intends to organise two photography workshops every year with 10 participants each. After the workshop, a grant will be given to the participants to work on developing their stories over six months. Experienced photographers and journalists will be invited to conduct workshops and review their work, which will later be exhibited.

‘My students tell their stories through photos’

’میرے شاگرد تصویروں کے ذریعے اپنی کہانی بیان کرتے ہیں‘

'నా విద్యార్థులు ఫోటోల ద్వారా తమ కథలను చెబుతారు'

‘ਤਸਵੀਰਾਂ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਕਹਾਣੀਆਂ ਕਹਿਣ ਮੇਰੇ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀ’

‘ଫଟୋରେ ନିଜର କାହାଣୀ ଶୁଣାନ୍ତି ମୋ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀମାନେ’

'എന്റെ വിദ്യാർഥികൾ ചിത്രങ്ങളിലൂടെ അവരുടെ കഥകൾ പറയുന്നു'

'ನನ್ನ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಫೋಟೋಗಳ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಕಥೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ'

‘मेरे छात्र तस्वीरों के ज़रिए अपनी कहानी कहते हैं’

'મારા વિદ્યાર્થીઓ તસવીરો દ્વારા તેમની વાર્તાઓ કહે છે'

‘मोर लइका मन अपन कहिनी फोटू ले कहिथें’

‘हमार छात्रन के कहानी, फोटो के जुबानी’

‘ছবির মধ্যে দিয়েই গল্প বলে আমার ছাত্রছাত্রীরা’

'ফটোৰে নিজৰ কথা কোৱা মোৰ শিক্ষাৰ্থীসকল’

‘புகைப்படம் மூலம் தங்கள் கதைகளை சொல்லும் என் மாணவர்கள்’

Chennai

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‘My students tell their stories through photos’

Holding a camera for the first time are children of sanitation workers, fisherwomen and others in classes and workshops by PARI photographer M. Palani Kumar, teacher with a camera

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