‘My students tell their stories through photos’

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.

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.

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

Taking photos allowed me to show respect for my community'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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

I'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 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.