By Suchita S.
At 16, I thought I could change the world; my friends and I thought we could make the Yamuna blue. We started 'Save the Yamuna' campaigns, and would frequent its filthy banks, armed with gloves and plastic bags, to do our bit to clean it up. Somewhere along the way, I forgot to give a shit. All the jargon about poor waste management, penetration of slums, and 'the incompetence of the government' wore out my patience. I hadn't thought about the Yamuna in really long; until I was introduced to photographer Surender Solanki's project on the Yamuna.
The Karol Bagh native grew up in a slum colony in the area. He was never interested in studies, but managed to make it through a private school education, and a bachelors through correspondence from Delhi University. "I was always inclined towards the arts," he told us, "but society thinks artists are always starving." He may have failed 7th grade, but at the time, he won an international art contest. When he was about 13, he was introduced to what would become his preferred medium - the camera; it had been left in lieu of an "udhaar" by someone who had borrowed money from his father. As a young teenager, he made his way jamuna paar, and was intrigued by the role the Yamuna played in the thriving civilisation that surrounds it.
What started as a project in 2013 is today an extension of Surender's fight and frustration, vis a vis the plight of the Yamuna. The Yamuna hasn't been what it was in Surender's younger years for the longest time. The civilisation that's grown on the banks of the Yamuna today curses it, destroys it, and empties its garbage in it. Perhaps for Surender, this is reflective of the inequality and injustice he saw as a kid growing up in a slum. "There was corruption, cops never helped us, and I was bullied as a child. I've always put up a fight though, and social issues have always interested me." From my conversation with him, I picked up on a deep sense of exasperation when it comes to all that's wrong with status quo- consumerism, the mismanagement of funds allocated to cleaning the Yamuna {an apparent expense of INR 705 crore}, and the growing disconnect between Delhiwaalas and nature. He cites studies by Germany based research companies, which detail the inefficacies of the Yamuna Action Plan {YAP} initiated by the government in 1993. One look at the holy river is enough to know that there's not enough being done to save it.
How will his photography change things? "I can shoot the Yamuna my whole life, but I still won't be able to save it. Streets are hardly cleaned in our city; I think the Yamuna has a long way to go." He sounds incensed, and disappointed, but he isn't giving up.
This particular series is especially riveting; a documentation of life along a river that's been long forgotten. Until now.
All images by Surender Solanki. He is an alumni of the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication; a student of photography.
