Amit Madheshiya , India
Photograph 1
They ran away from their village to the city they say they have seen in photos - but today Javed and Meena live around the Jama Masjid, eating out of garbage bins and sleeping on pavements. Sitting facing the Red Fort, Meena is defiant and refuses to go back home. As I look at them through the lens, Javed hides behind saying "they might identify us through this picture".
Photograph 2
As I released the shutter, his friends trickled out from within the derelict building. I realised that he was the seeker in a game of Hide and Seek. I was told that he arrived in Delhi nameless, bereft of memories - found in a railway carriage in the yard. With the help of a rehabilitation center he had slightly recovered. Apart from identifying his friends, he can now also scribble his name. I asked him if he had etched out his name on the wall he is climbing. Shyly, he smiled and began to squiggle something in thin air.
Photograph 3
She was caught stealing fish from a fresh catch. The boys (seen in the background) called her father (behind her, face not seen) and handed her over to him. Beating her relentlessly, he dragged her by the hair letting go of her just in time, as I trained my camera on her. Later, she told me about cities where parents are not abusive and there is plenty to eat. For the competition, I called up her village to find her name. She was gone.
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