Children from Vyasarpadi turn shutterbugs

Madras Marabinar, a group comprising students of journalism from Madras University, documents the history of Chennai and its people through videos and photographs particularly those from marginalised sections. The team had been documenting the lives of the unspoken hardworking people from Vyasarpadi for the past one year. In order to reach more people from the region, they have trained eight children from the neighbourhood in mobile photography and have come up with a photo series titled, Vizhimbin Oligal. The series captures and documents the lifestyle, habitat and culture of Vyasarpadi through photographs. The exhibition will be held on May 17 at Madras University, Chepauk campus.

Sukumar Thangaraj, who’s part of Madras Marabinar, says, “People from other parts of Chennai usually consider Vyasarpadi as a notorious area. Also, when compared to other regions, this part of north Chennai is less developed. Since it’s summer vacation, we wanted to do something for the children from the region. We organised an eight-day workshop in mobile photography for eight children from Vyasarpadi. There were seven girls and one boy on the team. For this, we had to collaborate with Aarvam, an NGO that works in the locality.”

A group of post-graduation students in journalism also joined Sukumar in taking theory and practical classes on photography. “First, we taught photography rules and techniques and then asked the children to take pictures by breaking those rules. Initially, they clicked photos of landscapes and things that are fancy. But once they understood how photography can be a powerful medium, their approach towards it changed. They started focussing on lifestyle, working culture, environment, religion and habitat that portrayed their day-to-day lives,” Sukumar says with pride.

The workshop was a learning experience for both the sides and team Madras Marabinar is happy with photo series. “Our idea was that since the children are from the same neighbourhood, there would be more authenticity if they can document their own lifestyle. Moreover, by showcasing the reality, they could convey their issues with others. A few students brought their own mobile phones and others used phones supplied by our team,” he says. They also took the children for an on-field tour around Kalyanapuram, Sathyamoorthi Nagar, Aduthotti, and Pulianthope.

Apart from teaching how to take arresting visuals, team Madras Marabinar also taught the children how to tag on social media and write catchy captions. They are also planning to publish a photo series book and distribute it to public libraries in the city.