Documenting India, empowering communities and promoting the art of social documentary photography on an unique mobile van.
Over the course of 12 years, team PPT has extensively traveled the country in search of stories to tell and conduct workshops for communities. These endeavours have been driven by invitations by organisations and collaborations with local artists. Such long term projects require a lot of investment in terms of time and resource. To be able to create a larger footprint across the country and its communities, we are currently experimenting a mobile mode of learning and dissemination. The country is huge and not all can come to a workshop in the city where we are based, or we can’t wait for a project to turn up in a particular region. So we thought, why not take this experiment directly to the people?
Thus was born the idea of “Photography on Wheels” a travelling photo van that will criss cross the length and breadth of this country. Stopping in rural villages, towns and conduct workshops along with local photographers. A model that also helps us document stories in hinterland india and at the same time give back valuable insights and knowledge to upcoming local photographers through participatory workshops.
The core motive behind the project is to create a platform and a vibrant community around the ideals of social documentary photography for students, teachers, artists and anyone with a keen interest in photography and life in India. The broad objectives of the project are:
We drove over 1800KMS over 10 days along the beautiful Photography on Wheels
8 open-air exhibitons were installed in various towns for the public.
Over 3000+ people visited and interacted with our exhibitions.
We conducted workshops for photography students.
Day 1 of Photography on Wheels, Our first destination was Akola.
Workshop and exhibition by Sudharak Olwe on his work of social issues. Exhibition of artwork and photographs by members of the Secular Art Movement along with PPT Team.
Workshops were conducted in association with Akola/Buldhana Photographers Association and Sony India
All the artwork and exhibitions were related on social aspects themes like violence against women, caste atrocities, the lives of sex workers, and malnutrition across India. It was attended by Ms. Archana Mhasane and Mayor of Akola.
Day 3:
Dr. Ravindra and Smita Kolhe Residence, Melghat, Amravati
We visited and photographed three tribal villages today - Kolupur Village, Duni Village and Gota Village. We spoke to the villagers about their occupations, lives and challenges (malnutrition amongst children, although the number has come down in the last few years).
The farming techniques and outcomes in these villages, have been greatly improved here under the guidance of the Kolhe family comprising Dr. Ravindra Kolhe, Dr. Smita Kolhe, Ram Kolhe, Rohit Kolhe and Pooja Kolhe.
We saw rice plantations, muskmelon farming (with drip irrigation procedure), and pure, fresh turmeric plantations. We spoke at length with Dr. Ravindra and Dr. Smita Kolhe about their colorful lives and how they transformed an entire village.
We also spoke at length with Rohit Kolhe, their son, who guided us through the farms and helped us understand the minutiae of farming and what goes into growing the food that arrives on our plate.
We would like to thank the Kolhe's for hosting us, sharing their wonderful stories, and giving us the opportunity to learn.
Day 4: Today was a very interesting day with the many villages we visited and the people we met. We visited five villages today - Katunga Village, Harad Village, Bairagad Village, Kobde Shane Village, and India's first digital village Harisal Village. We were welcomed in an eco- friendly manner with a beautiful plant that was then left behind unharmed!
The villages are mainly belong to Gond community. They are known, among other things, for worshipping Ravana's son, Meghnad. We saw a very interesting structure of Meghnad that had been constructed in the Harad Village. In Harisal we spoke to them about the issues of malnutrition that continue to persist there as well as their indifference towards the hype of the "Digital Village" tag (the wifi is only free for the first half an hour, then you have to pay, we will be coming up with a more detailed story on this later!). In Kobde Dhane we stopped to meet one of Dr. Ravindra Kolhe's friends. In Katunga Village, we went to a temple where the Kolhe's helped stop the ritual of animal sacrifice and held an impromptu sketching session with the children! In Bairagad, we exchanged stories over lunch with Mr. Jamshid Khan Ismail Khan, an old friend of Dr. Ravindra Kolhe's.
I am a novice when it comes to the world of photography, so this trip was a mountain of learning experience for me. One thing I learnt is that when you are photographing for such cause, the job is done only when you take your work to the masses and create awareness for the cause. That’s why this initiative by PPT and its team is truly commendable. I am sure these wheels of photography will cover millions of miles and have a considerable effect on many on the way.
I enjoyed this trip very much! It is quite a memorable and implement experience for me to have worked with Sudharak Olwe and PPT On Wheels team. This experience reinvigorated my love for photography. I am glad that I could learn many new skills during the trip. Thank you so much, ppt team.
As a non-profit, all resources go towards funding workshops and other educational/documentation activities. You can donate any amount to support our different projects or invite us to conduct workshops for you or your institute. We are also looking for long-term funding to mount national projects in communities across the country.
