Life at Chawri

Chawri Bazaar- One of the oldest markets of brass, copper, and paper products. It was also the first wholesale market in Delhi. The place has held on to its essence of a traditional marketplace for years and serves as a working platform for Blacksmiths, carpenters, and other craftsmen. Most of the jobs in Chawri are labour-intensive, providing work to hundreds of manual labourers daily. Chawri Bazaar was also the first place I went to with the Pinhole Photography Society for my first photo walk. As I had just started learning about photography, The first few photo walks were just me trying to figure out my camera settings and trying to navigate the chaos of Chawri Bazaar. A few months of photo walks helped me improve my understanding of both the camera and Chawri Bazaar. Taking photographs helped me make sense of the chaos in Chawri. It helped me find order in the chaos of the place. I never planned to make a series of the photographs that I took at the place. My primary reason for clicking was to practice my photography. As Chawri is a very happening place, it was really helpful in practicing my compositions and framing in street photography. My second reason was that figuring out the chaos in Chawri was very calming to me, as it took away my attention from the constant thoughts that kept popping into my head. In September 2022, I moved to Brighton to pursue my passion for photography. Applying what I had learned during my MA, I finally decided to compile all the work I had done in Chawri Bazaar. This project about representation and exploration, of the place that helped me understand my process of thinking and working. To me, the project is about connecting with other people and exploring the Bazaar through photography.

It was almost three years later that I realized Chawri Bazaar was just a small part of the place I had been documenting. However, I chose to keep the title, 'Life at Chawri,' because Chawri marked the beginning of this project and, in many ways, the start of my photography journey.