Hiraman’s wife refused to be photographed. As she had nothing to do with any friend of the raakshas (devil) who gives her Rs.150 to run the house for one month. Hiraman kept asking her to shut up. She kept threatening to leave him. Her fury was fierce. It is not likely that Hiraman’s wife will leave. It is more likely that Hiraman who is visibly shrinking will die soon. As Hiraman’s widow, the BMC (Bombay Municipal Corporation) will consider her a “pity case” and will give her Hiraman’s job. And Hiraman will become a photo frame on the wall.
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Sudharak Olwe (born 1966) is a Mumbai-based documentary photographer,
whose work has been featured in national publications and exhibited in Mumbai,
Delhi, Malmo (Sweden), Lisbon, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Washington.
He has drawn immense admiration and awe in the Indian subcontinent for revealing
the naked reality of life’s tragicomic social theater in 2005, he was one of the four awards for the
National Geographic’s “All Roads Photography Program”.
He was awarded Padma Shri
one of India’s highest civilian honors for his social work in 2016.
