Anshu Gupta

Man washing candles from his affected shop after the Kerala Floods of 2018.

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.

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