Snapshots of life

Sometimes, an eye for an eye could enlarge vision, rather than make the world go blind. That is, if you are giving vision, rather than destroying it. This is what happened when two sets of young children — removed by oceans, cultures, language and perceptions, got to narrate their stories to each other through photographs and messages.

When 29-year-old French filmmaker and photographer Dorothée Adam decided to work on this exercise with two groups of deprived children in India and France, nobody expected the initiative to throw up perceptive and moving narratives. Or that it would grow into an endeavour that could one day help bring world peace. Well, it all began during Adam’s travels around the world while making her numerous documentaries. Every time she met children, Dorothy Adam was struck by how captivated the kids were with her camera, whatever be the part of the world they belonged to. Adams decided to see what the kids would create when a camera was placed in their hands. The project took on a bigger dimension when Dorothy got the idea of getting kids from diverse countries to exchange photographic tales of their lives. When the French NGO Chemins d’Enfance stepped in to facilitate the project, the Eye for an Eye project was born. Meanwhile, Japanese camera maker Canon pitched in with the equipment. About 45 of the images born of the project were displayed to viewers in Chennai, Puducherry and Paris. These images have turned out to be an eye-opener for many others, not just the kids.

So, is this the beginning of new friendships that will subtly transform the world of the future, altering old discrepant notions bred by unfamiliarity? Yes, of course. In fact, the exchange of photographs and correspondences between these two sets of kids is still on, though the project never envisaged the continued correspondence. And the idea is all set to be expanded to other groups of children from other countries around the world, beginning with Cambodia. “We would like to create a web of connections between children around the world,” says Rosy Tarvion, who co-ordinates the project for the French NGO Chemins d’Enfance. Now, efforts are on to bring the French kids to India, for which money has already been raised, and thereafter to take the Indian kids to France, if sponsorship money can be raised.

Senji and Stanis

It all started in the beginning of 2011. About 23 children from Kappai, a tiny village about 12 km from Senji in Tamil Nadu; and 22 children from Stanis, a relatively poor suburb from Northern Paris, were chosen for the exercise. The children chosen were in the age group eight to 12. “Both the sets of children are from underprivileged families,” informs Tarvion, who has now settled in Puducherry, after quitting her job with a French Corporation, because, “I fell in love with India. I now want to devote time to create positive change here. And, it is real fun.”

Over a five-day workshop at the two respective locations, the kids — who had never so far had the occasion to handle a camera — were taught basic photography. To begin with, the kids were given cardboard frames to help them understand perspective and image composition; later on, they shared cameras to shoot pictures. Only locally available material was used in the workshops, and the kids were also taught about body balance and stability, which is so crucial to shoot good pictures. Aspects like point of view and effects of exposure to varied light were also taught. The kids then started going out with cameras, shooting whatever it was that caught their fancy. Every month, for the last one year, four of each child’s best photographs were chosen, captioned and uploaded on the site www.eyeforaneye.net. The children themselves were given the responsibility of choosing four photographs from his own photography to share with their newfound foreign friends.

Thus began a series of exchanges between the two groups of children. But before the cross-country exchange, the kids had an exchange of thoughts within their own groups, with vigorous discussions on their photographs; very often, it turned out to be a discussion of their prerogatives and concerns. Meanwhile, during the summer, the programme’s trainer in Sengi, Saravanan, took time to train 10 kids from a nearby village too in photography.

New friendships

The kids had information to share, and questions too: What do you play? What do you eat for breakfast? What is your school like? Why do you wear the dot on the forehead? Seeing the photographs of the high rises and scarce greenery, Senji’s Kappli wondered, “How do you manage to live without fields and trees?” Other kids like Ines introduced their friends and way of life, from playing hopscotch with friends to voting at elections.

Gayathri from Sengi took a close-up shot of her necklace pendant while Meena has taken a picture of village girls and their glass bangles, which is a treasured part of every girl’s attire in south Indian villages. Then there is Selvakumar, who has shot a beautifully conceived image of the towering sculpture of the village guardian deity, which you would encounter just outside any village in Tamil Nadu. This image, packed with the dynamism of the idol’s expression and the grandeur of its pose, and set in the midst of unbridled greenery, tells a tale of the still existing green reality in some of our villages. Meanwhile, Arivazhagan has shot a picture of the thatch of his hut, while another child who has displayed an image of the village temple and mountains says, “I wanted to show a picture of the temple and mountains to my friends in France. They will see the picture and say what they think, and say thank you.” Well, only kids can get so unselfconsciously frank.

“These kids now see their old environments with new eyes; and yes, they realise they like it. They are proud of what they have,” remarks Tarvion. If you look at the images, you see that both sets of kids have fixed their focus on their friends, traditions, schools, daily life, environment, family, hobbies... One can’t but notice that the images are so positive. Both the sets of kids have clearly been counting their blessings, not sparing a thought, or an eye, to that which they lack, which is something that an adult eye might have zoomed in on.

Be it the North-South, East-West or whatever divergence the divide might be about, tolerance, or the lack of it, happens to be the chief cause of strife across the world; humanity has to learn to deal with differences; early exposure to different cultures, communities and geographies can make it happen, believes Adams. These kids possibly have the peace of the future world in their hands; in their eyes.