Sudharak Olwe is a Mumbai-based documentary photographer who has been honoured with a Padma Shri for his excellent work of not just portraying but also bringing to light the plight faced by the Dalits in our society.

 

Only a week before his session we had discussed his work in a photography lecture with faculty member Natasha Desai. I remember being deeply moved by his photos even then and so it was as if a dream had come true to actually interact with the person whose work had sparked such a deep admiration in me.

 

His body of work which he shared with us during the session was exceptional, to say the least. And through these photos came stories which were equally compelling. He told us about how he makes the families and individuals feel comfortable with him being around whenever he’s shooting in villages. I was impressed with how he built relationships with his subjects. He said that he still sends some of them gifts or even goes to visit them. This relationship-building that he talked of was as impressive to me as his work.

 

He also told us stories of how at times students would join him for his trips when he went to shoot and even though I never considered photography as a career, the possibility of working with him excited me and made me hopeful about my life after SCM. We ended the session by clicking photos with him and in the end, he even handed out his card to me and a few others. These cards in themselves were very unique as each card had one of his images. And so, the man still continues to intrigue me even after his session, whenever I look at this card.