Dharavi: life and work in a Mumbai slum

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

India | Friday, January 11, 2013 | 5 photos

I look at the world as if my eyes were lenses; constantly framing photographs in my mind.
I’ve never been good at selling myself; I always sound like a cliché. Photography is my passion, my calling. But you’re going to read hundreds of entries that declare this. The deluge of people taking photos these days is daunting – how does one emerge from the masses?
I have a raw passion for photography and find endless joy in sharing and consuming images. Photographs excite my creativity and ignite my imagination. Yet I ache for images that represent the world as it is.
I studied photography in high school and was amongst a handful of students who used the darkroom rather than Photoshop. Since then I have obtained two degrees and travelled extensively, particularly around Asia. In 2011 I lived in Mumbai. I was engulfed by the city; catapulted daily between the paradoxes of my comfortable ‘overcity’ expatriate life and the ‘undercity’ slums where I worked.
I’m at crossroads in my life: I’m 24, qualified, and dreaming of life through a wide aperture. This scholarship represents a unique opportunity for me to learn, communicate, and inch closer to realising my potential as a photographer.