Probably one cannot hear silence but then it is not a statement. Silence sometimes can be the loudest of all proclamation. And Introspection - The definition as stated by Dictionary: is the act or process of self-examination. For me it is a Journey back in time. I decided to think out loud all that I have fail to understand. Would it be wise? Is it possible? I would rather try then have my images be subjected to speculation, assumption and presumption. And it will probably be a juxtaposition of my recent images and my old thoughts.
I have always claimed that hard work never kills anyone. Do I stand corrected? Maybe - but maybe this man is sick, suffering from malnutrition or a chain smoker? Or was it too hot? That day it has been not to me. Or is he too old for this type of Job? Sportsmen probably spend more calories then a labourer does - the epitome of health. then why does an image of a hard working sweating worker have to evoke sympathy? What is there to sympathize? Hard labor is probably the only job he is capable of doing. Maybe he could not or did not study and many other reasons.
Is it really important? Well the question does derive from the fact that at the age of nearly 50 years I do happen to work as hard as them - from the perspective of my job definition as a photographer. While I may feel these people are underpaid hence their lack of nutrition but then as photographers I feel we are also underpaid. Is it the state, the economy or the policy maker? Now the crux of the matter – It so happens we choose our policy maker. Then where does it go wrong? Now why do I bother - Am I really the compassionate person I wish to claim?
Racism: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.
Great - So when we were taught history, I learned about the British rule. Then I grew up and was trying to make a living. I complained about the irregularies in our almost every aspect of our life. Amazingly what ever problem we have now seemed to stem from the fact that we still use their system, and mind you that was history. Now it is neocolonization ( is a term used by post-colonial critics of developed countries involvement in the developing world ) so we are living history now.
Funny - because whatever the system Brits left behind was not the Gospel truth, and we have the system to change accordingly to our state of affairs and which the Brits did and does years after years accordingly to their state of affairs.
Then Jewel emphasized that the British were racists and narrated me stories his friends in London endures. Which actually does not answer my wandering mind about all the irregularities we now face.
Now - I do not even bother to contradict him because I am sure there are incidents but at the same time they are also evolving. But I did ask him one question – Are we all not racially prejudiced? Would you love and marry a dark woman? Be honest.
This image is his answer.
Now - it about us. We. When I clicked this image of these youths braving the hot sun & apparently reserving place to collect visa from the Indian Embassy I had mixed feelings. Ok they need visa that I will concede. But the indignity of collecting the visa is preposterous. We seemed to have a laid-back attitude accepting crumbs of annoyance every aspect of life for the benefit of what? – Transports (Bus Auto Rickshaw Taxis) regarding fare and of course attitudes. Shops, which sell adulterated food and substandard products, least said about restaurants the better and I shall discontinue the examples here. Then every then gets saturated to a certain point when we explode for lot of other different reason. Evidently we witness all these in senseless breaking & damaging of public property beside private cars, building glasses – well anything breakable. Speaking of public grievance I am sure we have a hierarchy of administration to listen to our plight but again no one seems to hear. And we fail to entail. Why? ...
Myself
Am I really worth reading? I do not know. But I do seem to be struck in a no man land with my photography. Only yesterday I was asking myself – Does my image really strike a chord with the general population as I so aspire? Or am I a marketing blooper? What I had expected from my photographs? Applaud, awards or achievement? Propose or self-satisfaction?
Now is it really imperative to know what does a photographer thinks?
There are norms and procedure one can follow. Surely my composition maintains a standard with which I could have published a few of my works. But something refrained me to follow that particular path. Something, always seem to pull me inside the vortex of unprecedented spin of unknown trends from where I somehow managed to, pulled myself out but always with a bitter taste of failures.
I fancied by calling myself a maverick (Someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct). And when I voiced my innermost fear to some of my closest confidant -
Rabbi told me I am fifteen years (why 15? And not 10 or 20 I did not ask) ahead of time.
Triesha told me – you would never succeed because you are nonconformist.
Amitabh Biswas assured me surely people will appreciate my view when I am gone.
The look I gave to Amitabh is irrelevant here but probably needed to be mentioned because then & there I decided to voice my view (to some it maybe a voice of dissident) but actually I never believed in accepting a solution to a lot of issues just because the majority may think it is proper. I always think of the minorities that were given up. As far I am concerned we have not found a solution good enough not to be able to include everyone. Again neither I believe in revolution, which seems to have a solution for all our issues. Once Summon Mahbub a practicing socialist had asked me whether I am a socialist.
I mused that there is no democracy or fundamentalism in socialism. And then there is neither socialism nor democracy in fundamentalism. But in democracy we can have both socialism & fundamentalism and if you guys can conceive us to mandate a majority you are welcome to it. Democracy is a practice. It evolved since the time of Ancient Athens, which called itself a democracy (from c.500 bc to c.330 bc) because all citizens could take part in political decisions. I do not believe in revolution because it is only an ideology which so far have only been achieved by violence and it never stops till stopped and ironically with more killings. But what I am talking about is evolution and sequences. It may probably means the same but I see evolution as a timeline and sequences as a bridge. Which we should cross only when a time period has given some consensus for all generation to accept.
With my perpetual habit of mixing with all classes & generations I do develop an idea, but what are noticeable to me are the extreme gaps between generations and classes in my country. Blending and merging the generation is a challenge but should not be overlooked because the mass needs to be addressed also, and we require them to serve all-purpose especially in nation building and most important mandating our policy maker.
In retrospect the elite and literate minorities in Bangladesh, decide for the so call illiterate majority of our population. Here what are not counted are the survival tactics of our forefathers. At the same time some deeprooted traditional social taboos also need to be reformed. And of course child labor comes in the equation.
Any image construction of a photo story on child labor is usually a child working in a harsh condition inevitably to rouse sympathy and mandate a resolution against child labor. But somehow it has always seemed to me an incomplete approach. I concede that to abolish child labor you have to make it visible. But what are the causes behind them? We have to make them visible too in finding a solution. According to the U.N. Children’s Fund report, more than 6.3 million children under 14 are working in Bangladesh (September 1999). Now this information is goggled but I needed a number to ask some questions. Now how many families induce their children to work as child labor? What are the circumstances? And obviously why? And most important to me are what are the state of affairs of these child labor are now that they are no more a child labor? I decided to start with Mazed who is now 17 years of age and definitely not at his place of work.
