One Man's Inspiring Journey​ From Rag-Picker To Renowned Photographer

28-year-old documentary photographer Vicky Roy ran away from home in West Bengal at the tender age of 11. Making his way to the national capital with Rs. 800 in his back-pocket, he worked as a ragpicker with a group of children at the railway station for a few months, and soon found work as a dishwasher at a local dhabha (street restaurant). It was while working at the dhabha that he was approached by a customer who worked with the Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT), a home for young boys founded after the success of Mira Nair’s film ‘Salaam Bombay.’ Roy found a place for himself at one of SBT’s centre’s called Apna Ghar where he was then enrolled in school. This became the turning point in his life, and things slowly changed for the better.

After successfully completing his class 10 Boards, he decided that academics weren’t for him and changed his track. “Mujhe ghoomna tha, uske liye freedom chahiye tha (I wanted to travel and wander around. I needed freedom to do that),” he says. He was introduced to photography at a workshop that took place at SBT, in which one of his friends had participated. Roy being a wanderer watched his friend get the opportunity to take a trip to Indonesia through the workshop and photography, and immediately decided to take up the art form himself. “Zero se le kar ab power type ki life hai meri (I had nothing in my life at first, now it’s completely power-packed),” Roy says jokingly as he tells us about how his life has changed since he ventured into the art world.

In 2004 he was introduced to photographer Dixie Benjamin, who at the time was shooting a documentary film about SBT and the incredible work they do. After working as Benjamin’s assistant, he approached Delhi-based photographer Anay Mann who happily took Roy on as his mentee. “I was given Rs. 3,000 as a monthly stipend along with a mobile phone and a bike. Up to the age of 18, I stayed at Salaam Baalak Trust and later started staying in a rented flat after Anay began to give me the stipend amount. During the same time, I had taken a loan from Salaam Baalak Trust to buy a B/W Nikon camera. I used to pay Rs. 500 as installment and Rs. 2,500 as rent. Whenever the money wasn’t enough, I worked at high-end hotels as a waiter and got Rs. 250 per day,” said Roy speaking to DNA.

Under Mann’s guidance, Roy picked up the tricks of the trade and created his own aesthetic and photographic style. He had his first public exhibition in 2007 titled ‘Street Dreams’ at the the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, which got an incredible reception and even toured to London, South Africa and Vietnam. Roy has since earned several laurels to his name--in 2008 he was nominated by the Ramchander Nath Foundation for a mentorship program by the U.S.-based Maybach Foundation. Out of the thousands of applications that came in from around the world, Roy was one of four people selected. He was given access to visually document the reconstruction of the World Trade Center in New York. During his time in the United States, he undertook a photography course at the International Center of Photography, in New York. After the six-month long residency program he returned to India and held his second exhibition, even going on to release his first photo-book titled ‘Home Street Home,’ published by the Nazar Foundation, in 2013.

In a collaboration between MIT Media Lab and the INKS Fellows program Roy got the opportunity to study photography in Boston in 2014; this year he was even featured by Forbes in their “30 under 30” list. “Photography books by famous photographers are expensive...everyone doesn’t have access to them, and it’s incredible work so they lose out because of economic reason,” he said. With this in mind, Roy began a photography library with friend and fellow photographer, Chandan Gomes, under the Rang called ‘The Open Library.’ Together they approached numerous photographers asking them if they would want to donate photo-books for the library, which the duo has to aid students and underprivileged children by opening up the world of different kinds of photographic styles and forms. They invite established and renowned photographers for talks, which they host every alternate Sunday in West Delhi. “We started ‘Rang’ because good photography books are very expensive and out of reach for young photography enthusiasts. Through ‘Rang’ we want to make the best photography books accessible for all who care for the craft,” said Roy in an interview.

“My experiences are what inspires my photography. Creating beautiful images get boring after a point, they’re good for Facebook. I’m a documentary photographer--I strive to make projects that have a message for society,” Roy shared with us. When we asked what advice he’d give to young budding photographers, he said, “it depends on what kind of photographer they want to be--a short term ka ghoda ya long term ka. If it’s long term, whatever project you work on, read about it and do a lot of research before you begin your work...put your heart and soul into it. Only then you will last long in the industry. You need to analyse your own work, ask yourself ‘why should people appreciate these images’ and ‘what change can they bring?’ Otherwise, as a short term guy, you’ll click pretty or attractive pictures and they’ll get a lot of likes and applause, but they won’t last. It’ll just fade away. Anyone can take pretty pictures nowadays with phones and upload it with all the filters and such on Instagram. You need to decide what kind of photographer you want to be.”

Currently, Roy is working on a project called the ‘Banality of Brutality’ that he is crowdfunding on Wishberry, and he needs our help. “My project is an exploration of urban development and its harmful impact on nature. For this project, I have selected our pristine Himalayas. Only 60 % of the project is done. I am looking to make more trips to cover more area and then put together a beautiful book deserving of the wonder that is the Himalayas,” Roy states on the campaign’s page. “Blind urbanisation is rationalised in the name of ‘development’ at the expense of our environment. This unregulated drive is robbing the Himalayan terrain of its unique beauty and homogenizing the landscape, leaving behind the banal motives of brutality such as incomplete houses, worn out machinery and waste. My photo-essay is an attempt to bring forward the tragedy that is slowly unfolding in the Himalayas, but goes unnoticed because of the grandeur of the landscape and the awe it inspires. My project will draw attention to mismanaged development in the Himalayan landscape, with the hope of protecting of the world’s most unique natural sites,” he adds.

With diligence and undeterred determination, even in the face of hardship, Roy has achieved a lot of much-deserved success in his short photographic career. Working his way out of poverty and anonymity, he serves today as a living inspiration for people across social classes, backgrounds and barriers.

Learn more about the ‘Banality of Brutality’ project in Vicky Roy’s own words in the video posted below. If you would like to help him continue his incredible work, you can contribute towards the project by visiting his Wishberry campaign page.

Feature image taken from Vicky Roy’s series ‘Street Dreams’