Vyasarpadi lensmen show vibrant and impressive sides of their locality

CHENNAI: An entire community wailing at a funeral. Harrowing pair of battered footwear. A girl playing carrom in a dimly-lit and cramped one-room apartment. Bleeding injury on a foot. Teens playing football. Sanitary workers sipping tea in the middle of the night...All these heartwrenching images are from the recently concluded photo exhibition, titled Engal Therukkal Engal Kadhaigal (Our Streets Our Stories), curated by M Palani Kumar.

Nestled within three narrow lanes of the Vyasarpadi’s housing board hung powerful scenes that reframed the lives of its residents. As the street turned into a dynamic canvas in itself, the gritty reality of daily life met the artistry of each photograph, adding to the vibrant tapestry of the street.

Our Streets Our Stories was a three-day photo exhibition by eight young photographers from Vyasarpadi - E Imman, S Nandhini, P Thirisha, S Vinodhini, Rasiya Banu, D Vigneshwari, and N Sakthivel, mentored by photojournalist M Palani Kumar for over a year. Presented by Vyasai Thozhargal, Palani Studio, Chennai Climate Action Group (CCAG), and People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), the exhibition captured the raw emotions creating an immersive visual narrative for all who ventured through.

Through over 300 photographs, curator Palani attempted to rewrite a negative metanarrative that shrouds north Chennai. Thirisha, one of the eight photographers, shared her experience. “In college, students mocked me by calling me Vyasarpadi instead of my real name. Society has fixed my identity to the place I originate from. We are trying to change that perspective.”

When asked about the choice of an unconventional exhibit space, the curator of the exhibition Palani Kumar said, “There is a need for actual recognition of north Chennai. Every photo frame was placed outside their homes so that the exhibition attendees could easily communicate with them. This makes it easier to understand the reality. There are a lot of outsiders visiting these lanes for the first time. Unlike the prevailing violence-ridden conception of Vada Chennai, there is another side to it. People live lovingly with their parents. It’s not just the ‘bloody’ tales.”

NGO Karpi’s founder Akash Madhi, who visited the exhibition, was moved by the photographs. “Every photograph narrates a story. I found the photostory series of footballer Priya’s death due to medical negligence very haunting. This is a great initiative that breaks stereotypes propagated by mainstream media. With every step we took through the lanes, we saw someone studying to become a lawyer, an engineer, etc. However, cinema portrays a contrasting reality,” Akash shared.

Addresing the gathering on the exhibit’s importance, director Pa Ranjith said, “A lot of us die due to administrative apathy and negligence every day. We are what remains of our ancestors. We have been fighting for ages. That’s why this kind of expression is vital. Art is a medium through which culture is propagated. A lot of our stories have been erased, misrepresented, and used against us by others, making perspective important in divulging our history. So it becomes necessary to wield that medium to own your stories.”

As a testament to the aspired goal of the exhibit, documentary videographer Ashwin Kumar shared, “The series by Arunraja Kamaraj, titled Label, sheds light on how people are branded according to their roots. I can relate to that after visiting the exhibition. Instead of just focusing on aesthetics, these photos inspire me to be socially responsible, to give back to the community and to do more.”

Palani Kumar has exciting plans for future exhibitions - he is currently training fisherwomen in photography, empowering them to tell their stories.