http://www.lightstalkers.org/galleries/contact_sheet/29415 The people of the streets – who live, work and die by the roadside. Outsiders to the city and outsiders in the city. People with few rights but a certain future - bleak. People not bound by time, timelines or the vagaries of schedules. Bound only by life but not by life’s possessions or joys. Unbound by death that comes calling in the form of drunk motorists, severe cold, extreme heat, disease and the strain of living on the roadside. People without an identity; outside the purview of official consciousness; far from the chimera of growth rates; the exact-opposites of High Networth Individuals (HNIs), of fashionistas in small black dresses, of corporate honchos cursing their race against time, ignorant of hi-tech gadgets and political alliances. But proud to be the residents of a ‘world class Delhi’ that gleams with escalators on its pavements, shimmering steel overbridges, slick urban transport and sleek tunnels for motorists. Delhi still remains their home and the city of dreams – even if they were hidden behind view-cutters, shoved out of the city and sent back home. People in NGOs now call them City Makers. City Makers, because many of these people are credited with polishing up the city, constructing its sky-scrappers, its stadia, its roads, tunnels and flyovers - in short shoring up its infrastructure. With a lot of advocacy and much running around by activists, Delhiites are now waking up to the misery of the homeless and their rights. With the various courts taking up the cause of the homeless and administering a rap on the knuckles of the government, mainstream consciousness around the issue has been increasing and facilities for the homeless are being now provided in the form of shelters both – permanent and temporary. The Night March on December 31, 2010 was different. This was my fifth photo-shoot on the issue of the homeless in 2010. I had been going out at nights with campaigners from one of the NGOs from Delhi, clicking the homeless at spots where they congregate – The Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place, Old Delhi areas near the Jama Masjid, the Ashram Chowk in south Delhi and also at various night shelters. My earlier four shoots, done in various seasons, had captured the shelters and the people, even one of the Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) in south Delhi - which did not want a shelter for the homeless in the middle of their tranquil living. This shoot was different because the campaigners were taking out a procession for the rights of the homeless on the last day of 2010. December 31 was a highly symbolic moment. To walk approximately 8 kms in the dead of the chilly Delhi night at a time when people are merry making to the tunes of Munni Badnam Hui and Shiela ki Jawani may not have been historic but it was significant. The protestors walked from the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) to Hanuman Mandir, Connaught Place, shouting slogans against the policies of the government, against corruption and for demanding the rights to shelter and housing. I am sure the demands for other rights should begin soon - ones that empower the people and give them dignity. http://www.lightstalkers.org en-us http://images.lightstalkers.org/avatars/40412/_MG_7872_copy_small.jpg http://www.lightstalkers.org/Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199535/DPP_01_copy_small.jpg' /><br />Homeless inmates at the temporary night shelter near Old Delhi.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199535'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199535 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:46 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199535 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199535/DPP_01_copy_small.jpg' /><br />Homeless inmates at the temporary night shelter near Old Delhi.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199535'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199541/DPP_04_copy_small.jpg' /><br />The march for the rights of the homeless <br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199541'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199541 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:46 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199541 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199541/DPP_04_copy_small.jpg' /><br />The march for the rights of the homeless <br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199541'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199538/DPP_02_copy_small.jpg' /><br />The elderly inmates cheer themselves at the night shelter despite the freezing cold.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199538'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199538 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 06:26:32 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199538 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199538/DPP_02_copy_small.jpg' /><br />The elderly inmates cheer themselves at the night shelter despite the freezing cold.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199538'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199544/DPP_05_copy_small.jpg' /><br />The march goes down the Ring Road near the Nigambodh Ghat crematoriam.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199544'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199544 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:46 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199544 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199544/DPP_05_copy_small.jpg' /><br />The march goes down the Ring Road near the Nigambodh Ghat crematoriam.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199544'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199547/DPP_06_copy_small.jpg' /><br />Silhouttes of the homeless watch as the marchers file past near old Delhi areas.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199547'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199547 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:46 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199547 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199547/DPP_06_copy_small.jpg' /><br />Silhouttes of the homeless watch as the marchers file past near old Delhi areas.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199547'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199550/DPP_07_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199550'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199550 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:46 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199550 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199550/DPP_07_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199550'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199553/DPP_08_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199553'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199553 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:47 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199553 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199553/DPP_08_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199553'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199556/DPP_09_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199556'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199556 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:47 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199556 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199556/DPP_09_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199556'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199559/DPP_10_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199559'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199559 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:47 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199559 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199559/DPP_10_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199559'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199562/DPP_11_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199562'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199562 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:47 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199562 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199562/DPP_11_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199562'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199565/DPP_12_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199565'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199565 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:47 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199565 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199565/DPP_12_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199565'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199568/DPP_13_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199568'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199568 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:47 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199568 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1199568/DPP_13_copy_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1199568'>view full-size image</a> Rahul <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1314955/ls-6_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1314955'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1314955 Wed, 30 May 2012 18:06:54 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1314955 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1314955/ls-6_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1314955'>view full-size image</a> Rahul