Disaster- Myths and Realities
Witnessing Disasters- through Anshu’s Lenses
This collection of photographs shot by Anshu Gupta, chronicles his journey as a witness to most disasters, in the last two decades. This journey started in 1991 when as a photography enthusiast studying at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Anshu bunked classes and went to Uttarakhand to witness the devastation of disasters, dignity issues of disaster-hit people and mismatch of resources and needs. He has since been among the first to reach a disaster-hit area anywhere in India with his team from Goonj, capturing varied disasters across different geographies through his lenses. Anshu has also used Goonj’s deep and long-term work in disaster relief and rehabilitation, to revisit the same spots through time lapse photography, chronicling the shifting landscape of a disaster hit geography and community. Over more than 2 decades, Anshu’s insights around disasters and disaster-hit people have thus come to define Goonj’s values, guiding principles, and strategies.
Stories of DISASTER
BELIEF | यक़ीन
Bihar Floods, 2008
A man sets up shop on a flooded street after the 2008 Bihar floods.
In the aftermath of the floods, people found ways to keep going, setting up shop even as the water still lingered in the streets. This man’s resilience, his determination to rebuild in the face of such loss, is a testament to the human spirit’s ability to adapt and persevere.
Human-Made | मानव निर्मित
Gujarat Earthquake, 2001
The building where the crew of Lagaan stayed during filming, now reduced to ruins after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.
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The earthquake left an eerie sight – entire building towers toppled, with the lower floors crushed while the top remained intact. It was unsettling to see such massive structures, once full of life, reduced to rubble in a way that defied logic.
light | रौशनी
Kerala floods, 2018
Man washing candles from his affected shop after the Kerala Floods of 2018.
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The floods badly hit the small businesses in the state, mainly in the retail, agriculture, plantation and tourism sectors. About 211 landslides were reported and it led to considerable wash off in the topsoil that impacted land productivity in both the tea and rubber markets*.
This man in the picture had a store full of cartons and things. The flood destroyed most of the things in the store and filled it with mud and debris. Once the flood waters receded, the man began his attempt to restore his livelihood and get his shop in order. This is a picture of when he was washing the candles in plastic baskets. It was very fascinating because I guess none of us would have seen anyone washing the candles before. That’s when I realised that to me it might be a candle but for him it’s a commodity, something to be sold.
line | लकीर
Flooded fields of Assam
Children sit in lines to eat the food that they’ve received as part of the relief work after the 2008 floods in Bihar. Read More
One of the man-made Kosi embankments failed on the 18th of August 2008 and resulted in devastating floods in the state of Bihar. It affected over 2.3 million people in the northern part of Bihar. Recurrent flooding on the lower Kosi earned Kosi the epithet “The Sorrow of Bihar”. The flood killed 250 people and forced nearly 3 million people from their homes in Bihar. It triggered one of the largest evacuation operations with over 1 million people evacuated, and about 460,000 people accommodated in 360 relief camps*. We build way too many efficient systems with a hope that they might help to improve relief work when the next disaster hits. Somehow every disaster manages to bring forth newer challenges and topple every system set in place to work efficiently. The intensity of the disaster gets blamed for the mismanagement that follows and the search for a better and more efficient way continues.
Elephant of Water | पानी का हाथी
Bihar Floods, 2008
In Bihar a portion of the petrol pump – the underground unit which is used to store petrol or diesel, becomes a vehicle during the floods. Read More
Since it does not sink and remains afloat, people use it as a temporary means of mobility. It ferries a lot of people, but it moves very slowly, much like the pace of an elephant. This is why it is a ‘water elephant,’ symbolizing a slow but steady floating vehicle.