CHENNAI : In March 2005, Vicky Roy steadied his Nikon F-18 and snapped his first-ever shot — children toothily beaming through Holi colours, at his shelter home in Salaam Baalak Trust, Delhi. “My childhood is very black and white. I wanted to shoot something colourful... it was a powerful photo,” he recalls. Years after leaving the shelter, photography continues to be his faithful companion across countries.
From photographing Adivasi children at the Janwaar Castle skatepark in Madhya Pradesh to the reconstruction of the World Trade Center, the 36-year-old offers a window to the reality of often-neglected, marginalised stories. “I click pictures of other children and tried to show what my life had been like on the streets,” says Vicky, during a recent talk at VR Mall, organised by The Chennai Photo Biennale. In pursuit of documenting the precarious gritty life on the streets and its adversities, the photographer’s latest series drew him to the city that hosted the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023.
Vicky’s series documents the budding talent from the streets — a group of three don Virat Kohli masks raising their bats in determination or a player on a train posing with a Harmanpreet Kaur mask. “I am trying to show they are also somebody. I made masks of famous male, female, and international cricketers. I asked them which player they liked and to wear that mask to make it more meaningful,” says Vicky, also part of Street Child United, adding opportunities, through sports or otherwise, are critical for these kids.
Medium and the message
Growing up in Purulia, West Bengal, Vicky recalls his early years in an economically backward household where his father, a tailor, would try to make ends meet with a daily wage of Rs 10-15. Hoping his son would become a class 10 graduate, Vicky’s father sent him to a relative’s house. “I saw a movie where if you go to a bigger city you become a hero or a rich man. As a nine-year old, I took some money for bread from my uncle. I took a train and landed at Delhi railway station.
I became a ragpicker,” he says. Amid fights with police, and scanning the tracks for plastic bottles, he says platform life could often be brutal. Vicky’s tryst with Salaam Baalak Trust began in 2001 when a volunteer spotted him washing dishes at a nearby restaurant. He was then ushered back to the classroom, and later, to photography. “In the trust, during a photography workshop, two kids were chosen to visit Indonesia and Sri Lanka for their exhibition.
I thought I’d get to travel if I became a photographer,” he says. Under British photographer Anay Mann, he polished his skills. Vicky’s lens captured the daily lives of children on the platform; a solitary boy gazes at the blurry passengers zoom past him, a girl sells lit-up balloons, and a child on the railway tracks armed with a bag. In 2007, he exhibited these photos in a black-and-white album ‘Street Dreams’. “My aim is to show the positive aspects of life instead of the darker side. If I could come out of the difficulties and become successful, I believe anyone could do it,” he writes on his website.
Catalyst for change
Vicky recalls a question from his teacher in class 7: “What will you contribute to the nation’s success?” and her subsequent answer, “You succeed and it’s one less person who is suffering. Then you can help people.” This exchange has stayed with him and appears in his series and actions. From snapshots of persons with disabilities that fill a book, Everyone’s Good at Something, to setting up an open library in Delhi filled with photography books, the photographer focuses on access and education.
For instance, in ‘This Scarred Land’, Vicky captures how the Himalayan landscape is dominated by houses. Lingering on the broader theme of nature versus the greed of humankind, he aims to teach through his photos. Vicky believes, social media is a powerful medium to bring about change. “It depends on how you use it and who you are. There is also the spread of fake news,” he says adding that subjects of his snaps have garnered support from abroad, via social media. In another series, Vicky photographed people breaking stereotypes and holding boards like ‘I am from Kashmir and I am as Indian as you are’. Donning a smile, a photo of Vicky appears in the series with his own board: ‘Grew up in a shelter home and I’m an international photographer.’