You often hear of soul-searching cross-country trips where people get onto their bikes and go where the roads take them. Praveen Kumar’s initiative is different from that. Yes, there are bikes and yes, it’s across 21 states of the country —from Kanyakumari to Leh— but his aim isn’t self-gratification. Instead, he aims to bring to light the working women of India and the challenges they face, through Shades of India.
Praveen, a fashion photographer, tells us, “I was inspired to create the Shades of India project by my mother. She single-handedly raised three children who are now successful in their own fields. I wanted to stress on the importance of the working women of our country, who come out strong on the other side of a myriad of challenges.”
He goes on to explain how the project came about, and what he and his friend, mechanical engineer Sakthivel, aim to do — “I’ve always had a passion for photography and bike riding. I thought of combining that to travel over 13,000 kilometres in a span of 25 to 30 days. And along the way, Sakthi and I want to document, through photographs, women who work hard in our country.” He also says, “Women working at the grassroot level are not recognised, like women who work as coolies or street vendors. So, I want to be able to talk to and photograph at least five to 10 women in each of the 21 states and three Union territories I will be crossing.”
This noble idea hasn’t been short of challenges — Praveen has set up a Ketto crowdfunding campaign to be able to finance the trip. “Even if the Ketto campaign doesn’t get funded, I plan to finance it myself and leave on April 1.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to come back and hold a photo exhibition in Chennai.” Let’s hope this dream comes to fruition and the women in lower income groups get the appreciation they deserve.
