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Photo Essays by Young Maldharis

In 2015, a group of 20 Maldhari youth from different herding communities from Kachchh were invited to learn photography and create their photo essays for the community and Living Lightly. These young pastoral photographers came from varied cultures, histories and herding traditions. All that they had in common was their curiosity to play with the camera, a great love for their animals,  and an equally great urge to step outside the family occupation and take up a ‘job’ somewhere!  After spending a year capturing the riches and struggles of their own life through a third eye, as it were, most of them chose to return to the ‘azadi’ (freedom) of a herding life – as they called it.
The youngsters, all aged 14 and 26 then, were trained by Bangalore-based Ishaan Raghunandan, who became their friend, guru and mentor through this photo expedition.  
Ishaan writes:
“Many Maldhari children are exposed to the outside world while working at factories or the Rann Mela and other tourist hotspots. Milk dairies have sprung up even in remote Maldhari villages. Maldharis desire smartphones as much as anyone else and through them, a vista to the outer world is opened. Why shouldn’t young Maldharis aspire to a steady and risk free income, which requires much less effort than herding cattle?

On the one hand, there is the irresistible attraction of a secure job and regular income and on the other, the hard, but happy lives of their parents and ancestors. Will the intertwining of the Maldhari and her livestock that has endured for many generations, steadily unravel?
My students offer a reassuring answer to that question. Most of them are driven by their love for their livestock. Even with all the hardships involved with wandering, they simply cannot imagine any other type of life. For now, it seems to me that the economic security offered by the factories and tourist resorts is not strong enough to snap the bond between man and animal.“

We welcome you to dive into the world of these starry eyed Maldharis as you journey through a selection of 10 expressive essays!

See some of his photos here

Ishaan writes:

“Many Maldhari children are exposed to the outside world while working at factories or the Rann Mela and other tourist hotspots. Milk dairies have sprung up even in remote Maldhari villages. Maldharis desire smartphones as much as anyone else and through them, a vista to the outer world is opened. Why shouldn’t young Maldharis aspire to a steady and risk free income, which requires much less effort than herding cattle?

On the one hand, there is the irresistible attraction of a secure job and regular income and on the other, the hard, but happy lives of their parents and ancestors. Will the intertwining of the Maldhari and her livestock that has endured for many generations, steadily unravel? My students offer a reassuring answer to that question. Most of them are driven by their love for their livestock. Even with all the hardships involved with wandering, they simply cannot imagine any other type of life. For now, it seems to me that the economic security offered by the factories and tourist resorts is not strong enough to snap the bond between man and animal.“ We welcome you to dive into the world of these starry eyed Maldharis as you journey through a selection of 10 expressive essays!

See some of his photos here

Pastoral life, through the lens of Young Maldharis