Photography, "Passion with a purpose". A law student's love for street life. Captures the good, bad and the ugly.
Photography is an art. Capturing people, smiles, events, moments is a wonderful hobby that most of the people love to embrace. Blooming of flowers, sucking of nectar, baby elephants, cuckoos and mynahs, tender creepers, mighty oaks, fiery lions, pussy cats and the list is endless. When seen through the lens of a camera, the world reflects itself as a multicolored rainbow. It appeals to the eyes of the viewer and greets the hearts of art lovers. Every picture has a story to tell, a message to convey, an interesting idea to share and it is rightly said that a picture is worth a million words. To convey those unsaid words, a student of Law, Varshini Reddy used the lens of her camera. Let's get into her story and know more about what she is humbly trying to portray.
The Girl Nextdoor:
Born in 1999, Varshini Reddy is currently pursuing BA-LLB in Sri Padmavati Mahila University, Tirupati. Basically from Kadapa, her father is a Manager at a private Food Factory and her mother is a home maker. Her aim is to serve the community by giving her best as a Lawyer.
This teenager spends her downtime listening to music. She says she draws ideas from the songs she listens to most of the times. Watching movies and observing the imagery filled in the background is her favourite pastime.
Seeing The World Through The Eyes Of The Camera:
She embraced the camera as just a hobby. She clicked pictures of greenery around, birds and covered the beauty of nature in the initial days. She captured the flowers and leaves in her lawn, locked the wings of cuckoos in her camera lens.
Sensitising Her Photography:
Over a period time, her hobby took a different turn. The focus changed from capturing the bliss of nature's wonders towards the bottom reality of the streets. Clammy hands, dirty feet, sweaty foreheads and untiring souls became the main focus of the lens.
Portrayal of The Realities Of Life:
Her photography mainly focused on the happenings of everyday life - the genuine anger of a mother, the drooping chin of a disappointed child, the tired hands of a child labourer, the dropped shoulders of an old worker, the sewing machine, the potter's wheel, muddy pits and dirty waters in which little feet dance to the disgraceful tunes of poverty. Evening talks of ladies, group of men playing cards, a torn umbrella trying to protect a lean man from rain, a roofless house and a penny-less purse. The picture of a helpless mother who cannot give three meals a day to her child, the image of a skinny old man smiling with his wrinkles on, the capture of a little child looking at the school gates, the snap of a happy cap seller whose pocket is filled for the day- are these not the realities of life? Her pictures portray the smell of our country's sweat, they portray the life of a common man, and they depict unspoken words dancing behind the royal smiles. Down the lanes of this diversely rich country, there is poverty, there is harsh reality, there is untold agony and there are unsung heroes. Varshini Reddy's camera eventually started capturing all these and set on a journey to expose these unseen but true faces of life.
The Main Idea..
Most of us think that we are leading a life of immense stress. We are of an opinion that we're extremely hard-working and we do not deserve the fruits of our hard work. However, when we take a closer look at the lives of people we come across on the streets, we understand the true meaning of hard work and perseverance. We understand that numerous people strain their muscles from sunrise to sunset, still not be able to take one full good meal. That's the harsh reality of human life. This life, when exposed, makes people living in the glass doors understand the true meaning of life. The way people live on the streets might receive uplift if any sensitive individual pays attention to their difficulties. To appreciate and acknowledge the beauty of genuine reality is the motto of Varshini Reddy's street photography.
Her Words To The Budding Photographers:
Varshini says that everything around can inspire a photographer. Be it the air, sunlight or a tired face. She herself draws inspiration from everything and everyone around her. She appeals to the girls not to leave behind their passion out of fear of society. Every girl, she says, should be strong enough to run for her interests and passion. Lastly, she advises all the budding photographers not to take up photography for just fame or money. Instead, she says, take photography as a passion and let it serve some purpose.
Let's wish this aspiring photographer a successful career in her chosen field of law and an accomplishing future in her area of love- street photography.
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