(Un)Limited Space

A relentless battle rages everywhere in big cities like Delhi for physical space. During the daytime, this space becomes limited and keeps shrinking—until it almost vanishes during peak hours. Poor migrants, who come to the city in search of a better life, are the ones most affected by this shortage. With no real estate of their own and no chance of owning one, they try to stake claim to a small piece for their private use, but it is tough.  However, as the night progresses, this space starts expanding again, giving them more access. For a few hours, they use it as their personal estate but then have to surrender it again as the activity picks up during the day. I am amazed at their capability to adjust to this phenomenon, and it is this relationship of migrants to their physical space that I wanted to explore.  For my project on the resilient spirit of migrants, I have photographed them in many parts of Delhi, watching them get unlimited space only to give it back. I have focused on their lives, their relationships with each other, and the (un)limited space around them.  It is a phenomenon that is common across the world. I wanted my photographs to capture the co-existential feel of space in tense urban settings. For this reason, the photographs are black and white. They also have a slight bluish tone to reveal the spirit of the migrants and their relationship with the (un)limited space.