Best Narrative

Jharkhand, India

A boy suffering from pneumonia shivers underneath a blanket while his parents work on a farm in Jharkhand, India.

Photographer’s Note: This is a close portrait of a boy suffering from pneumonia. His nose is running and he has gone under a blanket shivering. I noticed him waiting in a corner of an agricultural farm house while his parents, both of them daily wage laborers, were busy in the farm operation. When I asked for consent to photograph the child, they gladly accepted on condition that I would bring them a copy of the child’s photo. I did not realize until then that I was going to take a photograph of a pneumonia patient for the first time in my life. When I went close to the child for an intimate portrait, I discovered that he was ill. While I was taking photographs, his parents went on urging him for a smile. He did not break a single one. I came to know that he was suffering from pneumonia and the doctor in a local health centre had advised the parents to take him to the nearby town for treatment. This photo is yet another example of the clear absence of health care providers in the interior rural areas.

© 2008 Somenath Mukhopadhyay, Courtesy of Photoshare