CHENNAI: For decades, the stories of India's working-class communities have largely been told by outsiders through different mediums.
But photographer Palanikumar's latest exhibition, Lives Among the Palms, by his initiative People's Photographers Collective, in collaboration with the Rural Workers Development Society (RWDS)and supported by the People's Archive of Rural India (PARI), turns that narrative around by placing the camera in the hands of the very communities whose lives it seeks to document.
The exhibition, curated by the photographer, is the outcome of a series of photography workshops conducted among marginalised communities, encouraging them to document their own realities. While the initiative has worked with communities across Vyasarpadi, Pulianthope, and fishing villages, this exhibition focuses on the lives of people in the Sayalkudi belt of Ramanathapuram district, where the Palmyra tree is deeply connected with livelihoods and identity.
"We don't want to be the voice for the voiceless. We want them to become their own voice," says Kumar, explaining that the project grew from a simple question: “Who has been telling these stories all these years? Instead of speaking on behalf of workers, the collective wanted them to narrate their own experiences through photography.
The exhibition captures everyday realities that rarely find space in public discourse. From the hardened hands of Palmyra climbers and the physically demanding process of collecting pathaneer and making karuppatti, to women balancing household responsibilities with agricultural labour, the photographs reveal the resilience behind occupations that often remain invisible.
One experience that stayed with Kumar was witnessing the community's daily struggle for water. In many parts of Sayalkudi, families depend on small groundwater sources or are forced to purchase water despite limited incomes. Palm workers spend six months collecting palm sapling and producing karuppatti , before taking up other forms of labour during the off-season to support their families.
What makes the exhibition particularly unique is that many of its photographs have been taken by local youth themselves. The current batch comprises six young women and one young man, many of whom juggle household chores, water collection and work before picking up a camera to document their surroundings.
"The biggest challenge wasn't teaching photography," Kumar says. "It was helping people realise that their own lives are worth documenting." For communities that witness these realities every day, their struggles often appear too ordinary to be considered stories. The workshops encouraged participants to see value in experiences that have long gone unnoticed.
Lives Among the Palms is on view at Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, until July 16. The exhibition features works of photographers V Aathi Selvan, T Jebamalai, Thangam, S Munees Prabha, T Pon Lakshmi, PJanani, G Sakthi, Muneeshwari and S Moniga T.