Bodies that tell tales of toil, sweat and tears

A coconut tree climber, who visits his house, inspired the photographer to explore how a particular cross-section of people find a natural way to stay fit and healthy — through their daily physical labour instead of hitting gyms or following an intense diet. Satyajit decided to document their lifestyles and has come up with a photography project, Heavenly Bodies.

“I should thank our coconut tree climber who inspired me to take up this project. Initially, I didn’t know how to go about the pictures — whether to bring people to my studio or to go outdoors. One day, I took my car and drove to a village near Chennai and started looking for options. I decided to treat the images aesthetically and portrayed the subjects in their environment. I went on a few more trips to capture the images of farmers, tree climbers, masons and fishermen. It took me a couple of years to compile the shots,” he says.

Satyajit has travelled to Madurai, Mettur, Manapad and a few tribal hamlets in Tamil Nadu to capture some intense shots. “When I approached the people they were happy and amused at the same time. They were like why am I focussing on one’s physicality instead of other aspects. I explained to them that back in the city people are highly obsessed with their bodies and spend a lot of time and money in gyms to get fit. But those people have beautiful bodies without doing any exercises, but just physical labour,” he added.

He has also documented their lifestyles and Satyajit noticed the drastic lifestyle changes that were happening among the fishing community. “I wanted to give a background story to each picture so that the viewers would get a better understanding of the socio-political spectrum. In Manapad, I’ve noticed a couple of fishermen who were on the heavier side. When quizzed about it, they said unless the motor isn’t working, they don’t venture into the sea.”

One of the main challenges Satyajit faced was to document women. “When you are taking pictures at a rural setting, villagers feel awkward. That said, a few came forward and posed. Unlike men, I had to ask women to carry on with the work they do. In the pictures, you can see the daily labour they do that makes them strong. For women, the physical appearance was more implied, whereas, for men, it was more direct,” adds Satyajit.