The men who enter
our building...
are not so good.
They are drunk.
They come inside
and shout and swear.
The women ask me...
''When are you going
to join the line?''
They say it won't be long.
lt's almost impossible to photograph
in the red light district.
Everyone is terrified
of the camera.
They are frightened
of being found out.
Everything is illegal.
There's a whole separate society
within itself...
l mean, you just walk down
that one lane and it's another world.
l knew l couldn't do this
as a visitor.
l wanted to stay with them, live
with them and understand their lives.
And of course, as soon as
l entered the brothels...
l met the children.
The brothels are filled with children,
they are everywhere.
And they were so curious.
They didn't understand why this woman
had come and what l was doing there.
They were all over me,
and l would play with them.
And take their photographs
and they would take mine.
They wanted to learn
how to use the camera.
That's when l thought it would be
really great to teach them...
and to see this World
through their eyes.
Kochi is in the class.
She's the quiet type,
shy with the camera.
And if Shanti doesn't get her way,
she get's mad and runs away.
l like Avijit but he gets upset
if someone calls him fat.
And Suchitra...
whatever you give her...
she quietly takes it.
She doesn't fight with anyone.
When they b*at Manik,
he gets mad.
He never bothers anyone.
Gour, if someone calls Gour
''garu'', ''cow'' he gets mad.
He picks his teeth all the time.
My name is Puja Mukerjee.
l live in Abinash Kaviraj Lane.
l'm ten years old.
For Geeta Masi upstairs,
l do dishes...
l bring tea, do errands.
She gives us money.
l mop twice a day.
The porch too.
ln the evenings, if they want,
l do shopping.
Until : at night,
if they want curry or rice...
l have to get it.
l keep thinking...
if l could...
go some place else...
and get education.
When you hold the camera,
take your time to look.
Don't just go like this.
lf it's not right here...
l'll move a little bit...
and make sure everything
in the whole square...
looks good and then
l'll take the picture.
So just do it more slowly.
So l want her to look.
Just today, l took someone's picture
and he badmouthed me.
l didn't mind. You really have
to put up with a lot...
if you want to learn
to do something well.
l never really...
think about being rich.
Even if l was poor...
l would have a happy life.
One has to accept...
life as being...
sad and painful...
that's all.
Pick up the bucket.
You do it.
l don't have any more to do.
You selfish f*cking bitch.
You can't even fetch water properly.
Hey, l didn't take your water.
You know how to use
your filthy mouth all right.
You worthless little c**t.
Go tell your mother
to get f*cked.
l have to do something...
with my sewing and photography.
l need to make a living and
take care of my sister and me.
People ask me why am l in lndia,
why l come and do this work.
There's no rational,
logical reason why l do this...
but l feel very connected
to the women...
and now their children.
Does she like this one?
She should be able to say why she
likes a photo or doesn't like it.
She doesn't have to agree
with anyone.
l don't like this one because
it's just one head sticking out.
You know what? She's right,
it's one head sticking out.
That's why l like it
and that's why she doesn't like it.
l like Zana Auntie's class a lot.
l like taking pictures.
Editing pictures...
l only like a little.
l like taking pictures more.
l feel shy taking pictures
in public.
People tease us
and say mean things.
They say...
''Look at them
taking photographs...''
''Who knows where they
could have bought...
those cameras from!''
Can you see, Grandma?
Look carefully.
Grandma, please...
look carefully.
Close one eye...
open the other...
and take a look.
-Can you see it now?
-Yes.
Sister, let me see.
My God, how beautiful!
This picture is funny to me.
Maybe it's just because
l'm a westerner...
but they look like an old married couple
holding their twins.
He is like my brother!
No, no way... l'm not going
to do anything anymore.
Why are you lying so much?
Avijit keeps teasing me.
lt's a funny photograph
because l know that's not true.
ln the photography class,
l like to do the selection thing...
like...
l like this one, or that one...
He gets to run around
taking pictures.
But our parents
don't let me go anywhere.
He beats me up all the time...
-Why?
-l don't know. l don't do anything...
He punches me
if l touch his kites.
And what if you get separated
from Manik...
would that be okay?
Yes.
When l was taking this picture...
Shanti came and put her hand
in front of the light...
and so her hand came into
the picture.
Dad, they tore up
one of my kites.
When l was little...
the police
used to take my mom.
My dad would take me
to the court to get her.
They'd ask her:
''Are you going to do it again?''
She'd say no.
Then they'd let her go.
My mom is very worried
about Shanti's future.
ln our room...
there is a rod...
and from there
we close the curtain...
that way we don't see
anything that's going on.
When my mom works
in the room...
we go up on the roof
and play there.
lt's a lot better
to fly a kite in the evening.
l live here with my grandmother...
because my mother
can't take care of me.
My father tried to sell me.
lf my sister didn't come to get me,
my father would have sold me.
l worry that
l might become like them.
Kochi is very shy and demure.
So if somebody is gonna force her into
prostitution she's not going to say no.
She's never said no
in her life.
So you can imagine
what's going to happen to her very soon.
The children ask me for help.
They ask for it all the time.
And it's heartbreaking,
there's so little l can do...
all l can do is try.
Why do you want to put her
in our boarding school?
Kochi has a very hard life.
From o'clock in the morning,
she works with me cleaning houses.
She works so hard that
she doesn't even have time to rest.
But now she makes some money
cleaning houses.
lf she gets into the home.
that money won't be there anymore.
Yes, true...
but l'll manage it somehow.
Why did you bring her in
and not her mother?
She's sitting right over there.
There's...
no problem with her mother...
just that she's temperamental.
She's lost six sons,
her husband d*ed too.
She tried to k*ll herself
by jumping off the Howrah Bridge.
Since then,
she doesn't behave normally.
Was there any treatment for her?
Yes, there was, but they said
she has emotional problems.
Maybe it will get better over time.
So, you want to admit Kochi
in the boarding school...
Yes.
Yes, l want Kochi
to fill in the application...
and l want her to go
to the boarding school and study.
lt would be good if she could study.
But we have certain rules
and regulations over here...
l can't...
promise anything.
But we'll take in the application.
We need three copies
of her photograph...
passport size...
and the grades from her school.
Babu...
finding her papers without
her brother's help is difficult.
l have eaten and l will throw up!
Move!
You're taking them
on a visit to the zoo?
Son of a swine, sit!
Avijit won't let me
sit in his lap.
This is even hurting me!
Riding like this tends to hurt.
Wow!
Look that building!
l'm gonna take a picture to.
Faster, faster.
They're going to b*at us!
Why don't you go faster?
You're going so slowly!
Am l doing it right?
The animals in the zoo
are shut in their cages...
they are fed only once a day,
and that too just a little.
The elephant
is running towards us.
He must be hungry.
People feed them plastic bags.
The animals don't know.
They think it's food
and eat it up...
which is harmful
for their health.
You sh*t two rolls
of film which is very good.
But the pictures all came out
blank which was not very good.
-Why?
-Because you went out at night, right?
You should know by now...
you can't sh**t at night
without a flash.
l had absolutely forgotten.
What are they doing?
They're carrying a dead man
to the graveyard...
when you pass away,
l'll carry you just like that.
Yeah, right.
You'll die way before me!
No, l won't!
One day, l opened the camera
and the whole roll got burnt...
so l don't open it anymore.
She's really good at photographing
on the street...
and no one has really done that
in her neighborhood.
Like outside her house.
And she's very bold.
Tell her that you know
how people get angry on the street...
but she's so bold
she gets away with it.
She's one of the few people
in the class.
Generally, people get angry
if sh*ts are taken on the roads.
No, nobody gets mad at me.
Yeah, because she is very strong.
One girl got mad and said:
''Why did you take my picture?''
She tore up her picture and said:
''Give me the negative!''
l said: ''Heck, no negatives''.
Then l walked away,
she said nothing.
The greatgrandmother, the grandmother
the mother are prostitutes...
but they have better surroundings.
lt's a Brahman family,
they're very sort of regal...
because she eats well,
she's dressed well...
she's not obviously poor...
but she's heading for prostitution.
Pest of a bird.
ls she always this quiet?
Quiet? My God!
She never listens to me.
She never listens to me.
My mother is lying a lot.
She said her mom is lying.
Just ask my grandmother.
She's asked
to ask her grandmother.
Oh my God...
how much has to be done!
My voice will cr*ck...
and hands will ache.
l like the way Puja behaves.
Whenever she eats something,
she shares it with others.
You don't even have to ask.
One day, l went to Puja's house
and saw her dad b*ating up her mom.
l asked Puja about it...
She said...
''My mom didn't give money to my
dad for his drinking...
so he b*at her''.
l wish l could
take Puja away from here.
When she grows up,
she'll end up on the streets.
She'll do dr*gs
and snatch people's money.
lt's my picture.
Why do you think it is yours?
lt was taken with my camera.
l know! But just because
it's your camera...
doesn't mean it's your photo.
A composition means
how you put shapes into the box.
The lines of a picture.
These are all very,
very good compositions.
You can see everything
that is going on around.
There's so much information
in this picture.
There's layers of people
in the foreground...
middle, back...
and it's just a beautiful photograph.
Suchitra!
Tell us about your picture.
This is my friend's sister.
One day, she was drying clothes
on the terrace...
she asked me to take her photo...
so l got irritated
and took the picture.
Suchitra's mother is dead.
But her aunt wants to send her
to Bombay to work ''in the line''.
She's talked to me about it
many times...
and asked me not to tell anyone.
l know about her family...
she has pressure on her.
All the girls in Suchitra's house
are in the line.
That's why she never goes.
Suchitra's aunt will put her in the line
because she'll make money on her.
Do you see any solution
to all this?
No.
One of the girls
was already married off at age .
Another was forced
into prostitution at age .
These are all my students.
They have absolutely no opportunity
without education.
The question is can l find
a school? A good school...
that will take kids
that are children of prostitutes.
l'm totally independent.
l've been living and working...
in the red light district
in North Calcutta for a number of years.
-Which red light district?
-Ramagana Sonogachi.
Where you've been living
for a number of years?
On and off, so l've been teaching well.
Basically.
l'm a photographer and l've been
photographing the lives of the women...
and l got very close
to the children...
and l started teaching them
photography two years ago.
There's one group l'm very close to...
and l'm trying
to get them out of the brothels.
Trying to find schools,
good schools for them, but...
l'm looking for a boarding school...
cause otherwise they go back
to the red light district and then...
One of the girls was already forced
into prostitution.
These kids want to be out of there.
Are there any boarding schools
that will take them?
Cause l found that people don't want
to deal with children of sex workers.
No place is the right place.
Nobody will take them.
Who will take them?
l take pictures to show...
how people in this city live.
People here live in chaos.
ln the village...
people may have a mud house,
but they are happy.
Nobody lives as filthily
as we do in our country.
Wherever there are dirty plates,
we find shoes right next to them.
ln no other country have l seen this.
That is why l like photography...
l want to put across
the behavior of man.
Whose pictures do you think are better,
yours or Manik's?
Avijit's.
When a camera is in my hands...
l can take a picture of someone...
who has gone away,
d*ed or been lost.
And have something
that l'll be able to look at...
for the rest of my life.
l like to draw pictures...
because l want to express
what's on my mind.
l want to put my thoughts
into colors.
Come and see all that my grandson
has won because of his paintings.
This one is full.
The box below is full.
All these boxes
are full of awards that he has won.
He has drawn and won everything.
When he was small...
lt's a picture of that time.
Avijit's picture as a baby.
l love this,
because it's a self portrait...
but you can also see the street.
You can see the environment
where he is.
He's just got so many different kinds
of pictures on this one contact sheet.
And the details here, the windows,
the shutters and wires.
So many different angles, and things
in the foreground, and background...
and men sleeping and walking
and everything.
Just a very good contact sheet.
ln our room, liquor is sold...
almost first thing in the morning.
The men drink
and then go to the girls...
give them some money,
and spend time with them.
Some men drink and don't pay.
Then l have to go after
them and be mean...
because that's all we have.
My father's name is Sunil Halder...
and he is almost forty.
When l was two, he married my mother,
and at that point...
another man got my father
addicted to smoking hash.
At the time...
a man got my father adicted
to hashish.
ln the past...
my father was a very good man.
He used to be very fat...
and he could easily b*at up
two men at one time.
He was well known and even now...
if his name is mentioned
in the Bazaar...
people recognize him.
But now, my mother has left
and he just smokes all day.
That is why nobody pays attention
to my father.
But even then...
l try to love him a little.
My mom lives in the village.
Nobody cares about her.
My mom used to say jokingly...
''l'm going to send you
to London to study''.
We don't have the money to live,
let alone for studies.
Hurry up. The bus is here.
Hurry. Everyone's waiting.
l've been waiting
for such a long time.
Can l sit by the window?
l want to take pictures.
Everybody is finally here.
We can leave.
-We're leaving. Let's go!
-One minute!
One minute. One minute.
One minute. One minute.
Could you ask everyone if they've got
their cameras cause l don't see them all.
Okay.
We're leaving.
Look at the water!
There are animals there.
Look at the ocean!
Gour!
lt's you and me!
A big one is coming!
This time we're gonna get wet.
Take a picture of me.
Look at the sky. The moon!
Let me go!
Let me go!
Let me go!
b*at that son of a bitch.
b*at the son of a c**t f*cking bitch.
Oh God!
You aren't the only one
who's brought up kids.
Naked f*cking whore...
giving out all the time
in your room.
l'll have you and f*cking
Latka thrown out!
Acting the part of a butt
f*cking saintly wife!
lf we are sluts, what are you?
You are twice the sluts we are.
Do you hear me...
or do you have
a d*ck in your ear?
You f*cked your son
and your grandson.
Go and f*ck your ass.
l'll give it to the m*therf*cker.
You get angry at him
and take it out on us.
Get over here.
Pretending to be saintly
in Sonagachi!
l'm not a social worker.
l'm not a teacher, even.
That's my fear, you know,
that l really can't do anything.
And that even helping them to get
an education is not going to do anything.
But without help,
they're doomed.
l can try to find a boarding
school for you...
but you will have to study.
He never studies.
He only plays with his kites.
So do you want to go
to a boarding school?
Do you want to go
to a better school?
You'll have to work hard
and improve your grades.
We're going to go and find out exactly
what we need for the school applications.
l've got the original birth certificates,
Xeroxes of the birth certificates.
The reason this is so difficult is
cause their parents cannot be criminals.
And their parents are all criminals.
They're all prostitutes, dealing dr*gs,
selling alcohol illegally.
l don't understand, you know.
Everyday.
Come tomorrow, it will be done.
You said it would be done today.
You promised it would be done today.
You promised it would be done last
Tuesday. You can't put a stamp on this?
-What is his father's name?
-Sunil.
He spells it with a ''V''.
lt's on his birth certificate as a ''V''.
The original ration card says ''V''.
V. l.
Aiy, V. l. V. V.
First you have to make an application
saying that l lost my card.
Take it to the Ration Officer
at Amherst Street, Calcutta.
Then he will forward you a letter
after putting a stamp on it.
Then you make another report
and take it to the police.
Once it is brought back here,
you will be given another form.
Then fill that form in and bring
it back to this office.
l just wanna know how long it's supposed
to take once you have all this stuff.
Seven days to a month.
l could k*ll this ration guy.
So now you die here, stupid!
Die, die.
She always has to get her way.
So l need to go over everything
that they need because l don't, l don't...
-Yeah, birth certificates.
-l have birth certificates.
And ration cards.
They don't, l mean, if l have
to go to that ration card office again...
l think l'll just jump off a bridge.
Oh my God. l've already...
Okay.
Medical certificate,
some sort of medical certificate.
Are they HlV positive?
l have no idea.
Do you think it would be possible
that they might be carriers?
Yes, definitely.
lt's clearly possible, l don't know.
l mean, l'll do it,
if you want, but l don't know.
Just get a medical certification.
So l'll have to take them to the doctor.
Kianti: bad news.
Potentially devastating news.
She called and she said that
the medical tests are compulsory...
and they can't move ahead until
l have the results of the HlV tests.
And that if they have HlV,
they won't take them.
-You'll just take a little blood, right?
-Yes...
you won't even notice.
Like an ant bite?
Not even an ant bite.
lnjections, God.
-l don't like sh*ts.
-lt won't hurt...
Just like an ant bite.
Like candy.
Yeah, right, just like candy.
Now l'm gonna tie the band.
-ls it tight? lt has to be. Does it hurt?
-A little bit.
-lt hurts!
-No no, it won't hurt at all.
lt is hurting!
Let's see this vein.
l'm afraid.
Take it easy.
We're done.
Perfect.
That's it.
Very good.
Keep your arm like this
and hold it tight.
Good news.
They're all negative.
Very happy.
Does her mother
have to tell her to work?
l'll throw you out,
you little bitch.
l like her, but sometimes
she says such mean things.
But l don't care.
After all, she's my mother.
l know what she does for work...
and l feel bad
talking about these things.
l don't want to say it,
but the more l'm growing up...
the older Ma is getting.
She'll pass away someday.
l have a small sister.
l'll have to take care of her.
My sister has taken
four pictures like this.
Right now,
l'm looking for grant money.
My goal now is, l mean,
is to teach them...
but also to raise money for them
using their own photography...
selling their photographs
to raise money for them.
Amnesty lnternational is going to use
the kids'photos for their calendar.
And the photos are being
auctioned at Sotheby's.
The whole point of this is
to get the kids out of the brothels.
lt's Shantis photograph.
l don't know if you know Robert
Pledge from contact Press lmages...
but he's come out
to teach the kids.
He runs a pretty major photo agency
in New York City.
He's become very involved
in the project, and very supportive.
Can you all look here and tell me
if there are other pictures...
in this series that
any one of you like particularly.
-And uh...
-Sorry.
When l first saw this picture
it was very strange because...
The tone of the sky has almost
joined with the tone of the real paper.
lt looks like the body starts
from the top of the paper...
Almost as if the top half of her body
didn't really exist!
So l was very surprised
when l saw it...
for the first time.
Avijit is very, very exceptional.
Very special.
He has a natural talent.
And...
this organization in Holland,
called the World Press Photo Foundation...
every year invites nine children
from all over the world...
to come and spend one week in
Amsterdam...
and look at photographs...
that are made by , photographers
all over the world.
And one of our ideas is to get...
Avijit to come and be
the child photographer from lndia...
to be present at this show.
And this is a very special thing.
As a grandmother, you should feel
very happy and very proud.
lf you are pleased, so are we.
So far we've had two exhibitions in NY,
but you haven't been able to be there.
So...
l've organized an exhibition
at the Oxford bookstore on Park Street...
of your photographs.
Only of your photographs.
And...
So you will all be
the guests of honor.
You're mothers are invited
as well, so all of your...
Ma can't come,
she has to cook.
What is it?
An invitation
to the exhibition.
Who is the second one for?
Mother?
Mother can't go.
Because of the baby.
Will Tapasi have to go?
lf anybody looks after the baby,
they want rupees.
We don't have it.
Nobody here understands
anything but money.
Every morning l read just one palm,
not all day.
Do mine, do mine!
Will l get a lot of money?
No, money will not remain
with you.
Look at his hair!
There it is!
Oh, they're all here.
Amazing.
-How are you?
-l am very well, thank you. How are you?
ln yesterday's newspaper...
there's an article.
You are published on the front page
of the biggest newspaper in lndia.
World famous.
l'm gonna show you the pictures
we're gonna put on the wall.
-Who's picture is this?
-Shanti.
Shanti. Like it?
This is another picture.
What do you think?
lt's so pretty!
The moon looks so beautiful.
This is... these are who's?
Avijit.
And the last picture
is the one that's in the newspaper.
That's it. Congratulations.
Enough! Please, relax.
And now,
they get to sign the pictures.
My hands are shaking.
Zana Auntie?
There will be a lot of people
at the Oxford Gallery, yes?
Yes, lots of people.
Here it is.
Oh my God.
Our pictures.
That's us there.
l like it very much.
-l like it...
-l like it...
-very much.
-very much.
This is her hand.
Her hand in front of the camera.
l sh*t this one and that one.
Did you do it by yourself?
At first l didn't really get it.
But then Zana Antie said:
''Come on, Saturday...''
and l went and saw a camera
for the first time.
So we met Zana Auntie
and liked her...
as soon as we saw her.
And since then Zana Auntie has been
teaching us with a lot of interest.
She teaches us so well that
everything goes into our brain.
We like doing photography so much...
that we forget to do our work.
What do you want to be
when you grow up?
l'm not sure...
but l want to be a photographer.
These photographs will now travel
to different parts of the world.
And the proceeds from these exhibitions
will go to one single purpose...
a decent education for the children,
and hopefully a chance...
to know a world outside
of the Red Light areas of Calcutta.
Star News.
Avijit's mother d*ed.
Some kind of kitchen expl*si*n accident.
l hope it wasn't...
Do you know how she d*ed,
what happened?
Her pimp set fire to her
in the kitchen.
He b*rned her.
That's what l thought,
as soon as l heard kitchen accident.
l'm very worried about him now
with this news.
Will there be any police?
Nothing.
So sad.
l used to want to be a doctor.
Then l wanted to become an artist.
There is nothing called
hope in my future.
He isn't going to school at all.
lf he doesn't study,
how will he grow up?
He has to become someone of standing,
he will have to grow up.
Tell me, how will he do that
if he doesn't study?
l am studying.
Even if he misses his mother...
his exams are staring him
in the face.
They start this Wednesday.
l'm always carrying his bags!
Wait, wait, wait.
l want to talk about this.
Where's Avijit?
He won't be coming today.
He's gone out with friends.
Everybody knows that Avijit
is supposed to go to Amsterdam.
He still hasn't got his passport...
because there were
a lot of problems.
But if he goes, he's going to represent
all of you and the photo class...
and all of the hard work
that you've been doing.
Did they invited us in?
-Why didn't you come today?
-l went to art class.
Why didn't you tell us
you weren't coming?
l didn't know...
my friends had to come tell me.
l want to get
his two rolls of film.
l go to study in the morning,
then l go to school.
ln the afternoon l have no time,
and in the evening it gets dark.
He's got school in the morning and
he's got school until five, right?
What about your photography?
You don't care?
No.
l'll do it later.
l could not get a passport
for that kid.
l went through everything.
l couldn't do it.
Actually, it hasn't
even been confirmed...
so l can't even tell you his passport
application has been accepted.
There is no way to get
this kid's passport...
because he lives
in the Red Light district.
l'm afraid the whole thing's
going to fall through because of...
Well, l'm afraid the whole
thing's going to fall through too.
Avijit hasn't sh*t anything at all,
because he's just... somewhere else.
You guys, you...
and you, and you...
have been accepted into a school.
My Granny will never let me go
to a boarding school.
l'm the only child.
She can visit.
lt's not like it's far.
Will we have to eat
only veggie food there?
Yuck, l don't like veggie food.
Which is more important?
Eating chicken
or going to a good school?
This is where
they will keep their clothes...
Also, they will have to make
their own beds.
They help the small kids, but
the big kids have to do it themselves.
My daughter?
She'll have to do it herself?
She'll have to.
But small kids won't have to.
That's good.
-l wanna use it too.
-Hold on.
Can't do it. What do l do?
When l learn the computer...
l can write to Zana Auntie
in America.
lf they're ready to admit the girls,
they have to understand a few things.
We want our girls
to go to University.
lf they admit their kids here...
the girl can be a doctor...
can be an engineer...
can be a lawyer...
They will have a normal life.
So there is one thing, very important,
that l am asking now.
They can admit the kids today.
And they can remove the kids
whenever they want.
This is not a jail, they are free.
But today,
l want their verbal commitment...
that they won't remove their kids
until they finish their studies.
lt means another ten years.
They have two or three holidays
of ten days each, per year.
But for example,
when there are wedding ceremonies...
when the grandma has d*ed...
or the birth of a nephew...
No wedding ceremonies,
no birthdays...
no grandmothers,
no dead bodies, nothing.
For all these things,
they cannot remove their kids.
Their first priority
is their studies, their schooling.
Puja won't eat well by herself.
She eats just fine.
The fact is, Puja's mother
spoils her a little.
She has to learn to eat by herself.
-They gave us so much rice and meat...
-Baisakhi left half of it.
-See you tomorrow.
-Bye, bye.
Are we getting off
in front of our house?
Stop the car.
-Bye.
-Bye.
-Tomorrow, at eleven.
-Bring your camera.
You're coming tomorrow
to our place to take her...
right?
Please, write me the address, okay?
This guy, Tim Grandage,
who runs Future Hope...
only wants kids from bad backgrounds...
so the children of sex workers.
lt's for boys only.
And there's pretty much
nowhere else for these kids to go.
Nobody else will take them.
l would say there are two that need
to get out very urgently.
Do they know each other?
Yeah,
they live in the same brothel.
-Which one you're most worried about?
-Avijit.
l mean, Avijit always's asking me...
he says l hate it here, l can't
do anything here, l can't study.
His one grandmother, l think, really cares
for him but has no control over him.
His grandfather and his father
are just sort of not effective at all.
l think he's gonna turn out to be a real
bad kid soon if he doesn't get real help.
He's got an ego, for sure.
l think if he's in
the right environment he'll also...
He wants to be good.
But he has no guidance.
ln the last few weeks he's had
a real change of heart about everything.
And he seems to be pretty apathetic.
l think he's reached a critical point...
and if he doesn't get out of there
really soon, he's lost.
That's how l'm feeling about Avijit.
He's a very bright kid, very talented.
Give us five minutes. Give us a chance
and let us chat next door.
-Give us five minutes.
-Ok, thank you.
lf you don't have a good foundation,
you can't build.
But they have to start
at a certain standard.
And if you work hard,
then you go up very quickly.
l'm not going if...
they put me back two grades.
lsn't it better to be with good people
that care about you?
And that want to teach you well?
Than a number?
But, you know, it's up to you.
l wanna go to school.
And as for you,
if you want to go...
they'll take you.
Yes, l'll go.
But he understands, right?
This is the only choice.
lf he doesn't take this offer
then that's it, he stays at home.
There's nothing more l can do.
Or want to do.
Maneck has also, l think, been accepted
into the same school as Avijit.
Oh, l'll be happy
to get rid of that brat.
l told him to go to his class
and he ran away.
l told him to earn me rupees
per month so l can feed him.
So he gave me rupees...
and ran away to play marbles.
Shanti's all right, but this one
is a weasel because he's younger.
l'm not worried
about sending her off...
in fact l feel happy,
l feel good.
lf only it wasn't today.
My mother d*ed on a Thursday
at five in the afternoon...
Since then, l don't do
anything special on Thursdays.
Ma, can l go?
You can go tomorrow,
but not today.
Everyone is going today. lt's the last
chance. There's no other opportunity.
l can't let her go on a Thursday.
The last time l did something
on a Thursday l suffered greatly...
l'm still carrying on that suffering.
l'm leaving.
You didn't touch your mother's feet.
You didn't touch your mother's feet.
Now you can go?
lt's good for her. Her future.
-l know, she will grow up well.
-You can see her. Every month.
One time.
l only cried a little
but my mother was so sad.
But you will get used to it.
Wow, you've got a whole lot of things.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Look, there's no need to be sad.
l'm not crying.
Bye, Manik.
Don't cry.
Everything is gonna be alright.
Gour's going to miss me a lot,
that's for sure!
They're not coming back anymore
They're not coming back
They're gone forever
Now l'm going to go live with Ross
There's Sabera.
''Sabera'' is written right there!
There is no way that
l'm going to get Avijit's passport...
without someone higher up intervening.
l don't think this kid
is going to get a passport.
School thing. His birth certificate.
A letter from student counselor.
A copy of the ration card.
Corrections for the ration card.
Letter from Bob.
Letter from World Press Photo.
And an invitation letter for Avijit.
So, if that doesn't do it,
then nothing will.
-Avijit, where are you going?
-Amsterdam.
-When?
-Tomorrow.
-Are you excited?
-Yes.
l'll see you soon.
We'll see you later. Bye bye.
Please, drive slowly.
lf there's an accident, l won't get there.
l won't fulfill my dreams.
Priya Auntie, does the window open?
-Can l open the window?
-No.
Now l feel like taking pictures.
This is a good picture.
We get a good sense
of how these people live.
And though there is sadness in it...
And though it's hard to face,
we must look at it because it is truth.
Hold them together.
Avijit returned to Calcutta...
and chose to enter
the Future Hope school.
Manik's father
would not let him go to school.
Puja's mother withdrew her
from the Sabera school.
Shanti left the Sabera school
of her own accord.
Gour still lives at home...
and hopes to go to university.
Tapasi ran away from home...
and went to the Sanlaap
school for girls.
Suchitra's aunt refused...
to let her leave the brothel.
Kochi chose to stay at Sabera.
She is happy and doing well.
Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004)
Moderator: Maskath3