Meet the winning photographers with disabilities of the Global Ability Photography Challenge

“Chai? Why not! A photograph by Dr Mohammed Rashid
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

It is hard not to miss the joy on Dr Mohammed Rashid’s face as he walks into the State Art Gallery in Hyderabad. One of the five winners of The Global Ability Photography Challenge, the Delhi-based assistant professor at Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences has been battling acute flaccid paralysis that causes locomotor disability. Dr Rashid asserts, “Disability never came between me and my photography.” The other four winners of this unique challenge include Sharlin Akther from Dhaka in Bangladesh, Srivatsan Sankaran and Aravind R from Chennai and Ashwin Babu from Mumbai.

(from left) Srivatsan Sankaran, Dr Mohammed Rashid, Aravind R and Ashwin Babu
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

The Global Ability Photography Challenge initiated by Not Just Art — a part of Hyderabad-based Youth4Jobs (Y4J) Foundation — in partnership with the ongoing Indian Photo Festival (IPF) celebrates the artistic talents of people with disabilities, informs Y4J founder Meera Shenoy. Among 137 participants and 15 finalists, these five winners have been awarded a cash prize of ₹25,000.

“Life and livelihoods despite the challenges” a photograh by Sharlin Akther
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Photography as a form of self-expression could tell a thousand words or even brighten one’s mood. It is a powerful visual medium for the deaf with communication challenges. Photography as an asset helps them to explore, express and showcase their efforts to maximise their special talent. For instance, Rashid’s photograph captures a squirrel trying to have chai from a glass against the backdrop of Qutub Minar.

“Being in Delhi, I have the advantage of visiting many structures and monuments,” says Rashid who loves architecture and travel photography. His friends initially dissuaded him from photography saying, ‘You have difficulty walking, how will you capture a picture?’ Dr Rashid would manage by sitting — sometimes even on roads — to shoot with his Canon 1300 D. “I tell people who are disabled like me, there’s nothing you cannot achieve. Your disability and path maybe different, but if you work hard enough, you will reach your goal.”

Positive outlook

Chennai-based Srivatsan Sankaran uses photography to announce his disability to people and advocate for it. Founder of Madras Photo Blogger and Deaf Collective, Srivatsan holds photography workshops for the deaf community.

He worked as a developer for two years before quitting his job in 2014 and pursuing photography as a weekend hobby. “My personality changed because of photography,” says Srivatsan, who did not like to meet people as he had trouble communicating. Thanks to photography, he began to travel and meet people, which has brought in many changes. i “Now my body language has changed; I smile more often and come across as a confident person. If I don’t understand something, I ask people to talk slowly. It is very important to bring in a positive outlook about the community.” he says.

Srivatsan communicates through sign language in his photography workshops for the hearing impaired. His winning photograph is of the Haldi festival held in Pattankodoli, in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district.

Trance – Yellow Festival” by Srivatsan Sankaran
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Ashwin Babu and Aravind R communicate with us with the help of a sign language interpreter. Employed at Cinegence Media Private Limited, Mumbaikar Ashwin revels in black-and-white photographs. With Charlie Chaplin as an inspiration, Ashwin’s photograph titled ‘Man and his Soul’ of a man and cat is an ode to pet lovers. He explains his love for photography: “I like realistic themes and photos that make one reflect.” His photograph of two palms rotating — a deaf symbol — has a light effect. He calls them talking hands as, “We speak with our hands.” He recollects the challenges, “Earlier people thought I was arrogant as I would not respond to their requests to take photographs at events. When they learned I was deaf, they realised their mistake .” Ashwin hopes to make ‘many like him embrace photography to bring their talent out.’

“The old man and his soul’ by Ashwin Babu
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Aravind, who has an eye for bird photography discovered his passion during his final year of high school. After a three-month course in photo editing through Madras Photo Blogger, he has been working as an assistant there. One of his favourite photographs — also his award winner — shows a fishing boat at Marina beach with a bird ready to fly off. Aravind says, “I used to take photographs casually with my mobile phone, but after I learnt its nuances, I understood the importance of camera position, angle and lighting. It is not just enough to have passion, one needs to train to understand the techniques.”

Unknown smile by Aravind R
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Special arrangement

With a plan to make the Global Ability Photography Challenge an annual affair, Meera says, “Now that we have the Indian Photography Society as a partner, we hope to make this bigger and better.”

Photographs of the top 15 finalists at The Global Ability Photography Challenge are on display at State Art Gallery, Madhapur till December 18.