Street Photography- End Sems Assignment

I.C. Colony is a residential colony located in the northern part of Mumbai in Borivali (W). Its name is derived from the Church of the Immaculate Conception or  I.C. Church. The area has the largest concentration of Christians in Mumbai and sees crowds of over 10,000 people for it's Christmas midnight Mass and Good Friday Service. Through this photo feature I seek to document the colony I live in. 

 

When we were given street photography for our project and were told to select a location of our choice, the first thing I thought of, was convenience. By choosing the colony I live in, I knew it would be convenient for me to go and click photographs, whenever I felt like. Also if some photo was slightly bad I could easily go back to the same place and click it again. Some of the photos in this assignment were clicked post midnight as I wanted to show the streets at night, and this was another reason I chose a location close to home.

 

I asked an old man in the colony, whom I know and recognise from the days I used to wait for the school bus, about some places in the colony that haven't changed from the 1990's. He mentioned the fork at I.C. Cross Road No.2 and I.C. Cross Road No.3 and The Cross.

 

The Cross

 

Location: Holy Cross Road, I.C.Colony

The Cross which is symbolic to Holy Cross Road is located on Holy Cross Road Association Playground. Religion hypnotizes you, when you pray the world goes out of focus and only God and your desires take central focus. Here the zoom blur aims to show how only the cross(God) is in focus and the rest of the surroundings(and our other thoughts) are just a spinning blur.
 

The Fish Park

 

Location:  I.C. Cross Road No.6

Mumbai’s first ever Fish Park is located in I.C. Colony. According to the designer of this park, it is aimed at providing a relaxing experience to visitors as they observe the fishes swimming and swirling in the water. People who visit this park agree with that statement.The corporator who submitted the proposal for this park said that all parents can’t take their children to an aquarium. The park can be an aquarium as well as a play area for children.
The entrance of the park features a 3D mural of waves, shaped like an arch, atop which there are fish statues, from which the starfish and shellfish are prominent. The walls adjacent to the park have ocean based street art.

Entry to the park is free for the first 12 months.(till December 2017)

 

Street Art

 

Location: I.C. Cross Road No.5

How many times do people tell introverts to participate? Sometimes they try. On the rare occasions they do muster the courage to speak up, some people interrupt them as they live to talk, and in doing so force introverts to stay silent and retreat back into their shells. It's saddening that lecturers don't reprimand the ones who butt in whilst one is speaking. The silent ones have a different perspective, let them speak, let them express, let the quiet ones voice their thoughts and amaze us all.

An empty street at night

 

Location: I.C. Cross Road No.3

 

All the world's a stage(quote by William Shakespeare) and we wait for someone to get into the spotlight. Why not step into the spotlight ourselves, or do the lonely roads where few dare to venture, despite the spotlight, scare us? 

 

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Market

 

Location: I.C. Colony Road

A cat has a mid-morning snack of Golden Anchovies (Mandeli) in front of the fish vendors stall. A lady in the market who has just finished her daily bargaining turns to her friend and points at the cat saying, look at how lucky they are, they will never be affected by the increase in prices. The photographer and a few other shoppers couldn't help but chuckle after hearing that statement.

Market

 

Location: I.C. Colony Road

 

A second cat sits on top of the fish vendors storage freezer. He eats the last of his mid-morning snack of Golden Anchovies(Mandeli)

Market

 

Location: I.C. Colony Road

The fish vendor has laid out a part of the days fish on a board and cleans a Pomfret for a customer. The cat has finished licking the box and has now turned his attention to the board and is edging towards it. Possibly he thinks the Pomfret is for him?

Market

 

Location: I.C. Colony Road

 

A second customer shows up and asks what fish are available. The vendor puts up 2 palms and indicates towards the board on which there are Sharks, Pomfrets, Golden Anchovies, Mackerel and Prawns. She is then asked which one is the freshest to which she raises her right index finger and points at the prawns.

Market

 

Location: I.C. Colony Road

 

The vendor keeps the bag on the stump and fills it with prawns, while the customer stands with his fingers shaped like a hook, ready to receive the bag.

 

Street Art

 

Location: I.C. Cross Road No.5

Anyone up for music icons from the 1960’s? Street Art of the legendary Rock band 'The Beatles'. As exam time draws nearer it is their song " Yesterday" that I relate to(the song started playing in my head when I saw this painting on the wall). Things for the next fortnight are tough, the exam tension is here to stay, I want to go back to the relaxed last month when exam seemed so far off, but it is impossible.

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
- The Beatles

Animals

 

Location: Fork of  I.C. Cross Road No.2 and I.C. Cross Road No.3

A canine helps his friend get rid of any ticks that might be on his body. The smaller dog in the photo was scratching violently and trying desperately to shake them off before the bigger one arrived to help him out.

Street Art

 

Location: I.C. Cross Road No.5

Thought provoking street art. Through all the mess and the destruction, nature will find a way to reclaim itself. What do you think of the message behind this Street Art?

 

 

Street Art

 

Location: I.C. Cross Road No.6

 

Thought provoking Street Art. Unleash your thoughts, let them paint the world. Without your thoughts, the world looks so dull in Black and White. What do you think?

 

 

Street Art

 

Location: I.C. Cross Road No.5

This street art reminds me of my childhood, and also shows the kids nowadays what real cartoons were. Such a painting would stimulate interest among them, as present day kids are curious and would be eager to know more about the cartoons they see on the wall. Also the pavement with grains of sand takes me back to my childhood days where running on it was a very dangerous thing.(In this photo is the man hole cover on which I tripped over and damaged my knee last April)

 

Empty Streets

 

Location:  Fork of  I.C. Cross Road No.2 and I.C. Cross Road No.3

 

This is the other location that the old man told me about. After I showed him this picture, he said it looked exactly like the 1970's(except for the vehicles and the paver block roads) This is right at the heart of the colony and the link between the old I.C. Colony (the I.C. Cross Roads) and the new I.C. Colony(Holy Cross Road and Holy Cross Extension). I kept this picture black and white as a tribute to the colony which even as it evolves maintains its heritage in some way with the cross and buildings(some are almost crumbling but haven't gone for redevelopment) and the marketplace. The picture captures Dynamic Tension.

 

Apart from documenting my colony, I saw things in the colony that I see daily but, don't usually pay attention to. I saw that, the people in the marketplace are friendly and eager to help(they specially kept food for the cat so that I could get a photograph of that). I saw the Fish Park for the 1st time as I don't go down that road unless absolutely necessary(the documentary made me explore my colony). When walking down the dead ends i.e. Cross Road No.5, I saw that the stained walls of the buildings now were canvasses for amazing street art which provoked thoughts and evoked nostalgia.

 

The photo documentary made me take notice and realise that there are stories everywhere, which are much better than the repeated lyrics that are blasted in our heads with the help of headphones. If only one would remove the headphones, take a moment and look around, we'd see things in real life that we can carry with us. It helped me observe my colony and learn more about it, things that I hadn't known despite living here for just short of 19 years.