Thousands of people sleep, stay and spend their days and nights on the sidewalks and pavements of Dhaka and Kolkata. Here, they become the natives of the streets. Not everyone who comes to the city will ‘make it’. They are at risk of becoming even more hidden.
Their main concerns are food, clothing, and a place to sleep. They live for the present. One day at a time. No past, no future. They engage in numerous activities to earn a living (working as porters, rickshaw pullers, maids, sex traders, and solid-waste recyclers), with their own particular struggles and joys.
Many newcomers arrive after escaping floods that ruin livelihoods in rural areas and that are becoming more frequent with climate change. Others are crippled with debt and are reeled in by the promise of better opportunities. But for the future influx of pavement dwellers, the move will not bring the better life they hope for.
We might assume that the biggest struggle for pavement dwellers is homelessness and unemployment. But the reality is that their situation robs them of their human dignity, renders them “invisible” to the rest of society and denies them access to the rights and resources that others enjoy. Nonetheless, they are conscious of their identities as human beings. Amrao Manush is a Bangla phrase meaning ‘We are humans too’.
I started this project in 2007, as a staff photographer with Drik and it was commissioned by Concern Worldwide. In 2010, I received grants from both the Magnum and Alexia Foundations to support the continuation of the project and this has helped me to give voice to the voiceless.
A group of pavement dwellers try to warm themselves up in the cold by burning paper in front of the platform. Cold weather is one of the difficulties they face, alongside rain, mosquitoes, and other problems. Kamalapur Railway Station, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2011.
A young pavement dweller, who works as a sex worker, smokes marijuana while she waits for a customer. Kamalapur Railway Station, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2010.
Laxmi Kanto Laskor collects garbage for living during a late evening. He was forced to live on the streets after his parents abandoned him because they disapproved of him arranging his own marriage. Raja Rammohan Sarani, Kolkata, India. 2011.
Abdus Sobhan, an elderly street dweller, at a mobile medical camp at Kamalapur Railway Station. At the camp he gets free prescriptions and medicines. The medical camp is run by the Amrao Manush Day Center. Before it was set up, Sobhan and other pavement dwellers did not have opportunities such as this. Kamalapur Railway Station, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2011.
Tra Singh, an elderly rickshaw puller, carries goods in his rickshaw. In Kolkata the hand-pulled rickshaw is one of the icons and legends of the city. Most rickshaw pullers in Kolkata live in the streets from generation to generation. Raja Subodh Mallick Square (Wellington Square), Kolkata, India. 2011.
Pavement dwellers bargain over a secondhand mosquito net. The small amount of money required for a mosquito net is a great expense for a pavement dweller. Kamalapur Railway Station, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2011.
Rupa, a child pavement dweller, reads in the early morning before her father wakes up. In Kolkata some street children are lucky enough to get the chance to go to school. This is rare in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Babughat, Kolkata, India. 2011.
Laxmi Kanto Laskor with his 2 year-old son, Mangal, and his sister-in-law, on the way to visit relatives aboard a local train. Their family collects garbage for living. Borabazar, Kolkata, India. 2011.
Asa Rani Laskor combs her hair in the evening with her husband, Laxmi Kanto Laskor, and daughter, Pinki. As the family collects garbage for a living, they shower and freshen up every evening. Raja Rammohan Sarani, Kolkata, India. 2011.
Two porters, Togar Ali and Pir Mohammad, enjoying a morning shower. Kolkata City Corporation supply water from the Ganga River for pavement dwellers to use twice a day. Borabazar, Kolkata, India. 2011.
A mentally challenged pavement dweller dresses himself as a traffic police officer and tries to control the traffic. Raja Rammohan Sarani, Kolkata, India. 2011.
Two rickshaw-van pullers sleep on their van, wrapped in a plastic sheet to ward off rain and mosquitoes. Kawran Bazaar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2010.