United Way Mumbai brought Much Much Media in to chronicle the vaccination efforts undertaken by HSBC India for Mumbai's dabbawalas and their families.
On the “Dabbawalas of Mumbai” shoot we met some 100-120 dabbawalas from a suburb in Mumbai. I interviewed some 6-7 of them trying to understand their lived experiences during the lockdown. The dabbawalas community has been delivering home-cooked meals in Mumbai for 100 years. Due to the pandemic, their life came to a standstill.
We met Mr. Bhagwan Parithe who looked like a very happy-go-lucky guy. And as we spoke he told us about his condition during the pandemic. “I didn’t even have money to feed my family. My wife earned 4000 a month and that was all we had for quite a few months. The campaign by HSBC Bank provided us with all our basic necessities during these difficult times.”
And he told all of this with a smile on his face. I wonder how things must have been for him. Such documentary shoots really bring you face to face with reality and gives a very honest glimpse into the lives of people from different socio-economic backgrounds. On all these shoots all I do is be a blank slate for people to narrate their stories and I just listen (no judgements, no interruption) just real honest experiences.
Read more about our processes here.