Those hard workers
RANA SIDDIQUI
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Black and white photographs of child labourers by students tell a story of what youth can do for youth.
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TIME FOR REST: A child labourer relaxes after a day's toil. A photograph from the exhibition at Travancore House.
An innocent boy, barely eight years of age, peeps behind a hanger full of small decorations. He sells them standing in the middle of the road. Another boy, may be six, jealously holds on to a broken kids' bicycle he managed to pull out from a garbage heap, proudly posing before the camera. One, probably a 12-year-old, tries to hide behind a drum from which he takes out water to wash the dishes, when he notices a camera clicking him. Unaware of the camera, a child shoemaker is busy repairing a sleek sandal, while another kid, barely four, naughtily twists his tongue while facing a camera. He is a fish seller on a pavement.
These and many more black and white pictures form the exhibition titled Frames of Life at Travancore House, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi. The exhibition inaugurated by MP Subodh Kant Sahay is an effort of 10 students from the Mass Communication and Research Centre and Wigan & Leigh institute and is supported by social activist Kailash Satyarthi's NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
Some benevolence too
Here, the pictures highlighting the lives of child labourers especially in Aligarh's lock industry, zari industry and Bhadoi's carpet belt have been taken to "sensitise the students to contribute their bit in their lives" as Kashif, one of the student photographers puts it. "It was painful to see a nine-year-old child working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Aligarh's lock industry. He makes nuts and bolts there and gets seven to eight rupees per day," recalls Kashif, who has spent two months in taking photographs roaming around Aligarh and Bhadoi.
Now he along with a few others is trying to bring some positive changes in the life of these child labourers. For instance, with the support of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, he has provided financial support to a 13-year-old newspaper vendor for his studies.
"Now he sells newspapers in the morning and studies in the day time," says a beaming Kashif. Small efforts have begun from the students' side, efforts which earlier these children would mock at.
"Many people and institutions start helping them but they can barely sustain the help. So these children used to mock at us earlier. Now they realise that ours is not a one-time token help."
The students have also provided pamphlets which declare that child labour is a crime as per the Trade Union Act 1926. It also tries to capture the visitors' attention through a montage of various newspapers clippings of stories against child labour, dilapidated conditions of government schools meant for the underprivileged, and so on.
The exhibition is on till the month end.
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