Breaking Stereotypes: Sakthivel's journey from Vyasarpadi to empowering the voiceless through Photography

CHENNAI: People from north Chennai or Vada Chennai mostly face the discrimination of negative perception because of its history and portrayal in films. A school kid took a knife to his class when he was in class 8 in Vyasarpadi. He was then shifted to a residential school in Besant Nagar, which entirely changed his life.

Sakthivel was never called by his name at the school, even by his teachers. Rather labelled as Vyasar, owing to the place he comes from. “I looked at Besant Nagar as a posh area, where people of higher strata come from. During my school days, my peers avoided me as I come from Vyasarpadi. I was frustrated with all the mocking and partiality and asked my father about the difference in treatment. He asked me to break that mindset and excel in studies, sports or any creative fields,” starts Sakthivel, who now documents the struggles, resilience and beauty of the voiceless.

 Those words boosted his confidence and he achieved district and zonal levels in handball and kabbadi, much to the surprise of his peers and teachers. Then, he joined another school in Adyar during classes 11 and 12. But nothing changed and the label followed him. “After completing my schooling, I shifted to Vyasarpadi again and enrolled in an evening college. My mother pushed me to do the night shift as an accountant and I will sleep in the morning. She did this to keep me away from the negative elements,” he says.

Sakthi was introduced to Vyasai Thozhargal, a collective where youngsters from north Chennai work for the empowerment of the people in the neighbourhood. Their company helped him to listen to the unheard stories around him.

 It was a dream for Sakthi to hold a camera as it was economically beyond his reach. “I used to believe that cameras were owned only by rich people in my childhood,” he laughs. He helped photographer Palanikumar in training 10 youngsters from Vyasarpadi for a photo exhibition. That’s when he held a camera for the first time and didn’t want to let go of the opportunity. “After saving sufficient money to run my family for around six months, I quit my job to pursue my passion. I traveled to different places in quest of stories that need a voice,” adds the 30-year-old.

His pursuit of stories with raw human elements guided him to the Kodungaiyur dumpyard. “When I requested to click pictures, I was shooed away. So, I disguised myself as a garbage picker and entered the place to speak to people residing there. I was shaken by the hardship of people- no bathroom, house, electricity and address proof. Humanity was not respected as they had to clear the medical waste as well. In the night, when a lorry comes to drop the waste, people die because of accidents as they are visible amid the heap. Stray dogs bite and kill people within the kuppamedu. One of the residents told me that approximately 1000 people died because of these instances,” Sakthi states. He is currently working on the documentary.

Sakthi has also captured the plight of villagers in Ennore, whose village will be destroyed in one year because of rising sea levels. The erosion in Pattinambakkam is eroding the lives of people living there. He has also encapsulated the death of fishes, with just bones left over because of water scarcity in Retteri. Sakthi’s chase to help people lead a better life introduced him to people in Seppakkam near Chennai, where 72 families are affected because of the ashes.

“Why are people ignorant about the living conditions in Vada Chennai?” he questions. “During last year’s flood, visuals of cars being swept away in Velachery were doing the rounds in the media. In Vyasarpadi, an elderly woman hanged herself as she couldn’t bear the abdominal pain of her surgery and most of the medical facilities were shut,” his eyes dimmed.

Apart from these, Sakthi’s photo stories include Jolly Day, a celebration on April 1 like Holi in the neighbourhood. His work of a thatha, a retired government employee who ended up picking garbage after the death of his wife inspired many and earned national-level recognition for him. “He passed away a few days ago and till his last breath didn’t want to beg and earn his living,” the photographer shares.

Sakthi’s biggest dream is to break the inferiority complex present among the people in north Chennai. “We can and we will reach the power we deserve like others,” he firmly believes.