© Interview Wilfried Vonk – wilfried@broersenvonk.nl

‘I want to capture the vibrant colours of street life’

Six days a week, Haran Kumar (22) rushes crisscross through New Delhi with his Nikon D70 ready to go. Central theme in his work is Street Life. In the past couple of years, he regularly exhibited in the India Habitat Center. Last year, he won the Nirman Award for most talented young photographer of India and started working for The Times of India. In February the Indian weekly Tehelka mentioned him as one of the fifteen best photographers of his country. In April he got a sholarship from Benneton. His difficult childhood partly accounts for his work. Run away from home out of fear of his aggressive father, he became a grown-up as an eleven year old in and around New Delhi railway station.

The story of his youth is like those of many other thousands of Indian children. At the beginning of the 1990s, his parents migrated from the Indian back land to the big city. His two older sisters and younger brother, joined them. Haran stayed behind in Madan Mohan Pur from sheer necessity. West Bengal, where, as a nine year old, he was given the task to support his blind grandmother. 'I really missed my family and kept nagging until I got to go to New Delhi as well.' In 1994, he was reunited with his parents. It quickly became apparent that West Bengaline education didn't meet with New Delhi education. Haren ended up with peers in fifth grade of elementary school, but wasn't able to capture the curriculum. Insufficient marks were the result. ‘I was shy and was afraid to say that I didn’t understand. Things went from bad to worse and out of fear for bad marks, I began to skip school. I left home in my school uniform every day, as was expected, but hardly ever arrived at school.'

His father couldn’t cope with his son's bad marks and beat him up when he came home with bad marks. When the school sent a letter to his parents about his skipping classes, he was too afraid to face his father any more. ‘With Rs 20 in my pocket and not a care in the world, I set off. I ended up in the New Delhi railway station and decided to spend the night there among dozens of homeless children. I wanted to wait out the storm and return home after a day or two. But the threshold to return got larger by the hour. I didn't dare.'

Cruel
Haran became a permanent resident of New Delhi railway station. ‘Life between the fast tracks was challenging. One day I would be selling bottles of water to passengers, the next day I would carry their luggage. There were times when my spirit would be shaken by the cruel behaviour of coolies, policemen and anti-social elements. But the smiles on the faces of passengers and their excitement at the prospect of travel, gave me hope. I believed there was joy for everyone in the world - and I was determined to have my share. Already as a young kid I dreamt of becoming a handsome and famous actor in Hollywood. This dream kept me going, although the circumstances were very difficult.’

After a few months he was lifted up by an employee of Salaam Balak Trust, an Indian aid organization for homeless children. ‘I will never forget that day. They asked me if I wanted to study. I cringed at the thought. They promised me food. I thought it was worth taking a chance. If I didn't like the place, I would have a hearty meal and run off. After lunch and a refreshing bath, I began planning my escape. Something inside my heart stopped me. Instinctively, I decided to stay for a while. Overnight, my fortunes changed.’ He was presented with nutritious food, a place to sleep and education. Because of his deprived education Trust put him in 3rd grade instead of 5th. Haran: ‘Suddenly, I began enjoying my studies and looked forward to school.’ Between classes, he often found himself on New Delhi railway station. 'That's where my friends lived. And it was an easy way to make some pocket money.' Until the follow-up of his studies forced him to move to a school many hundreds of kilometres outside of town.

Reunification
After two years, he returned to New Delhi. It had been over 5 years since he had run away from home and he was eager to see his family again. Because he was afraid to go alone, a Salaam Balak Trust employee joined him. What came next was a bizarre scene. ‘My parents were sceptical when they saw this slim, confident boy. They had thought that I had died and didn’t recognise me any more. They began quizzing me about my childhood, showed me pictures of relatives and finally realised I was actually their son. We had a very emotional family reunion.’ He stayed for two months. After that, he decided to return and finish his studies. ‘By then I was used to my independence and didn't want to be bound by any ties. Besides, my father had become addicted to alcohol in my absence. It hurt a lot to be a witness to this.’

In 2002 Haran first encountered photography. He was asked to be part of the international photo project Home/Live. The aim of the project, initiated by the Dutch foundation Homeless World, was to conduct a photography workshop with the street children and extract their imaginative skills. The project visited eleven world cities. Local aid organizations brought them by the street children. A selection of the images made by street children where later published at the internet (www.homelessworld.org) and in a book.

Haran: ‘So I was given a camera and could shoot whatever I wanted. I chose Street Life. I wanted to portray, through my photographs, the dreams, desires and aspirations of people who lived on the streets. It was a life I had led. A life that had made me tough. A life that changed my inner personality and my outer perspective.’ A photographer was born. His photos impressed and were exhibited. Reactions were positive. For him, studying remained the most important thing. He didn’t consider himself good enough for a career as a professional photographer. But his photos became increasingly better, also because of supervision by two photographers. Four more expositions followed.

Turnaround
His taking part in an exposition in December 2004 in the India Habitat Center, brought the turnaround. A visitor was so impressed with his photos – including some of his first photos from the 2002 project - that she proposed to organize a solo exposition. Haran took several thousands of photos between January and June 2005. A selection was exposed from July 15, again in the India Habitat Center. 'After this exposition, everything changed. I was offered a post as a photographer with The Times of India. A little later I won the Nirman Award. I visited Amsterdam on invitation of Home Live, to distribute awards to Dutch photographers. It was like a dream to me. Now, I enjoy my work, in which I try to show the reality of life. The positive as well as the negative, the light as well as the dark, life and death.'

He is clear on the origins of his photographic talent. ‘I didn't know I had it in me and had never spent any time on photography until the age of 17. The moment I first held a camera, it happened. It was given to me by God.' Street Life remains important in his work. ‘I like to take pictures of the children who are left uncared for, who have hope in their eyes but have no way out of the poverty. Sometimes I am so shocked that I forget to shoot. I want to work for this faith of destiny.. Not only as a photographer but also as an inseparable part of their family. I don't see the point in glorifying poverty, dirt and sorrow of those living on the streets. I want to capture the vibrant colours of street life, the unanswered questions in the eyes of street children, their zeal to live happily, their will to make a mark, their hope to hear good news, the happiness that each new morning brings them…’

He has a bright idea about the future. ‘The world is my playground. I am happy in what I’m doing and hope to achieve a lot more besides my photography. I don’t restrict myself to anything. Still I’ve got the dream to become a Hollywood-star. Who says that may not happen?’