Govandi, 2018 by Aaran Patel

This is the first photograph I made in Govandi, one of Mumbai’s most challenging communities located next to Asia’s largest dumping ground. These young boys were on their way home from arabi class and I was struck by how their starched white kurta-pajamas contrasted with the background, and how they were conscientiously clutching their books and pajamas to prevent them from getting dirty. 

The Deonar landfill, which accumulates more than 4,000 tones of garbage each day, and the communities around it are vital to the city, but their lives and challenges have been divorced from Mumbai by design. The average life expectancy in this part of the metropolis is 39, nearly half the national average, and residents suffer from a range of ailments due to the untreated, hazardous waste and its noxious fumes. How might civil society and government officials shape pathways for social, economic and environmental justice for this community and the millions of marginalised citizens pushed to the peripheries?

An original photograph by Aaran Patel.

This artwork was exhibited at Method Kala Ghoda in the group exhibition "Portrait of a Time" (September 2024).