`Driven' by the thought
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Truck drivers carry contagious diseases? They are uncouth? They are, somehow, lesser mortals? Jason Taylor demolishes a few stereotypes with his works on truck drivers of India, says URMILA RAO.
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Breaking images... Truck drivers through Jason Taylor's lens.
WHEN JASON Taylor visited India 12 years ago, like many others, he too fell in love with the country. Only, his armour was not with the Taj Mahal or the likes of it. It was the harder edge of India, the dreary lives of street beggars, wrestlers, sex workers, drug addicts, which moved him. The British photographer found he could "connect" with them with ease and so, he directed his camera lens on them.
In 2003, he revisited India, forgoing the pleasures of "long-term relationships, cars, property, motorbikes, going out." This time, the photographer bag-packed to be a part of truck drivers' lives. For three months, broken in two stages, Taylor travelled with them all over North India capturing vignettes of their lives, both apparent and tacit. And this week, he displays his images with the title Driven at the India International Centre Annexe in New Delhi, his first photo exhibition in the capital.
"I had seen documentaries and read a lot about truck drivers but everything was quite negative and hardcore," he says. His initial focus was on the subject of AIDS. Taylor felt "quite upset" about the way the truck drivers' community was largely blamed for spreading AIDS.
"We accuse them of spreading the virus but the disease exists at all levels of the society, and every part of the world," he maintains.
During his stay with the truck drivers, he observed, "A couple of drivers drank a bit, no more than any of my friends do, some were drug addicts, no more than any one else. They are normal people." What pains him more is despite being 16 hours on the road non-stop, away from family and children, no one talks about what they actually do. "There are no rewards and no gratification to make them feel good. They drive on appalling roads. In fact, the more important issue than AIDS is the road accidents that happen every day," emphasises Taylor.
A dialogue
He hopes through his vignettes, he will be able "to stimulate a dialogue between the truck drivers and the NGOs." His brilliant photography `speaks' of the chemistry he shares with his subjects.
"I interact, laugh, joke with people who are generally scorned at. No one seems to be compassionate to them. I have witnessed the lack of compassion, especially by people belonging to upper echelons of the society."
Next in the list of dos for the photographer, who loves the "sensational" dhaba food, is the portrayal of the lives of street beggars.
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Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
