Art on the Way
Prerona Saikia's camera sets out to capture street art and its creators.
What is art? And who decides it?
Shruti is a trapeze artist who has quite a few tricks up her sleeves. She uses various things as hurdles while she walks the rope at a height of at least 4 feet in the air.
This tricky game of balance is a mirror-like reflection of her real life, where she juggles responsibilities to make a living.
In this day and age when we capture our favourite moments in the form of photographs, much like this photo series, Jaideep Shetty believes that the essence of a moment is truly captured on a canvas. His eye for detail, the precise strokes of his brush, and the patience of a saint are what make Jaideep the artist that he is today.
Having learnt the art of tattooing from her mother-in-law, Sunita Shivaji Yadav is a tattoo artist who has been practising her craft outside Girgaon chowpatty for 20 years. Customers pick a design from her book, and get it tattooed on themselves for prices as low as Rs. 30 for a letter. "Permanent hai beta," is what Sunita says. (It's permanent, my child)
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Under the foot-over bridge at Grant Road sits Sandeep who threads together stunning pieces of jewellery for you within minutes using his majestic collection of multi-coloured beads.
On the streets of chor bazaar sits a craftsman who makes chandeliers. He has been in this business for over forty years now and hand paints every single piece of his.
Aditya Hazare (left) and Sachin Halde (right)
Dhanashree Jamdare
All three are students from different schools across Mumbai but what brings them together is their love for art. They partner up with NGOs and beautify the walls of the city.
If you hear hypnotising tunes just outside the ever-so-busy station of Andheri, just know that Naseem Khan is playing his melodious tunes on the flute.
As COVID 19 swept through the world claiming lives, Naseem Khan lost his pan shop and had to shift professions to earn a living. It is a matter of admiration that in this short period of time he managed to teach himself how to play the instrument!
Keeping the art of embroidery alive, Rau Rav is a veteran who has been working for 50 years, practising this beautiful art form. He carries with him a piece of cloth, bright colourful threads (not brighter than his smile though), a needle and an embroidery hoop every morning and sits outside Leopold Cafe teaching people how to embroider.
Starting as a bhel puri seller right outside the Gateway of India, Pramod Kumar Gupta watched other tourist photographers operate an interesting looking instrument—the camera. Intrigued by the craft, Gupta switched jobs and bought a secondhand camera for himself.
How did he learn to operate it, you ask? “Yeh toh dekh dekhke khudse seekha," says Gupta (I’ve learned through observing others). Even though the inflow of smartphones has negatively impacted his work, no one captures a moment as beautifully as a passionate photographer who has years of experience in helping people create precious memories.
Did you know that a baby shower- the occasion celebrating the birth of a child - has its own special jewellry made with tagarkali flowers? Ashok Dashrath Khapekar sits on the streets of Dadar flower market and strings these beads and flowers into beautiful art jewellery pieces to adorn the mother-to-be.
Every day, when the whole world is running either towards Churchgate station or pouring out of it, Sohaib stands still for hours pretending to be a statue to earn a living.
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Within a few meters of Mahim station, we can find Chaman Chauhan weaving beautiful baskets made out of bamboo. He moved to Mumbai in 1997 with his wife who helps him in his business. He has been honing his basket weaving skills for 40 years. “Yeh toh baap dada ne bataya hai,” says Chauhan while talking about this skill being passed on from generation to generation in his family. (My father and grandfather have taught me)
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All Dhammalpal Kirdak needs is a pen and a paper to create absolute masterpieces. According to him, art is not something that gets sold in millions, but something that holds the attention of the viewer.
Depending on the detailing needed in the paintings, he works on it for weeks or sometimes even months. He adds a special touch by painting his own visiting cards and giving it away for free to anyone who appreciates his art.