Select Works
Vicky’s photography revolves around showing the lives of people living on the streets. Having lived on the streets himself, he is a master of his subject. The subject matter of Vicky’s photographs is very tricky to do well, since it deals with a subject that is easy to over-sentimentalize and become cliche, it takes a truly skilled eye and developed personality to be able to preserve the essence of the original scene. Vicky manages to walk this fine line very capably, he also has a very clear understanding of formalism, which makes his images pleasing from an perspective of aesthetics.
Bathing at the station
Children working as rag pickers and living on the streets are enjoying a broken water line on a hot summer day. The train in the background, is the source of their livelihood, as they pick up bottles thrown out by travelers, but when given an opportunity do enjoy a good shower.
Carrying Bags
A young boy about twelve years old, in the middle of his workday. He must walk on the dangerous railway tracks to get the “best pick.” Being barefoot quickens his steps. With one sack full, he is very hopeful to fill the other sack.
Dragging with Hope
Street children form strong and very unique bonds with each other. The live through the same problems and are often the biggest support systems for each other. They work, live, sleep and play together. Here two boys are seen sledging on a dusty railway platform.
Flipping through pages
Taken at a busy Delhi crossing, a beggar child takes a break from her busy day, flipping through a newspaper and waiting for the next red-light signal when the vehicles will stop and she can be back at work.
Gazing Boy
Taken in Delhi’s downtown, Connaught Place, a child beggar looks on as busy office goers walk past. The stillness on the boy’s face is juxtaposed by the busy movement in the frame.
Girl wiith Balloons
Lachhi, a ten-year-old girl sells balloons , on a busy weekend night at Delhi’s India Gate, a popular picnic spot. The head lights of passing cars give the image an illuminating, almost halo-like effect.
In front of the fountain
Brother and sister sit at a dried-up fountain outside the President House and Parliament House complex in New Delhi. The children look at the seats of power making decisions on behalf of one billion Indians.
Looking up
This photograph taken in one of Delhi\'s godown cum workshops where children are used for carrying out various jobs. Here, Vicky captures a poignant moment in the life of a child worker. The child looks up to the light seeping in through the glass tile of the roof. The contrast between the dark surroundings and the light that engulfs the child\'s image is quite stark and strong.
Playing with pages
Taken at a busy Delhi crossing, two beggar children play with newspapers probably sold by them at the red light. They are engrossed in their play and don’t notice the photographer’s camera in their lives.
Under the bridge
This photograph taken reflects and encapsulates Vicky’s life. The photograph taken at one of the busiest traffic crossings in Delhi, the IIT Overbridge in South Delhi, shows a tired boy nestling himself in one of the concrete niches in the supporting pillar of the over-bridge. His passivity, in a way find a resonance in the dog who is laying down next to him on the footpath. They are not concerned about their sad lives and are optimistic and complacent at the same time. The litter around him shows the filthiness in which they live, but at the same time the boy’s positioning himself in the niche symbolically shows his determination to find a place for himself in the world.
Boys dreaming
Taken at Vicky’s foster home, Salaam Baalak Trust, his friends look into the camera, hoping for a better life for themselves. On the wall is a painting of Krrish, India’s iconic super-fanatsy, good-doer hero symbolic of the better lives and to-come even better lives they are to lead.
