Ram heads downhill with his half-ton load in Sadar Bazaar, Delhi, India

One of the main crowded streets in Sadar Bazaar, Delhi, India

Day laborers and their loads in Sadar Bazaar, Delhi, India.

Sadar Bazaar is a virtual gridlock of humanity, erupting in an explosion that impacts all the senses. A cacophonous mixture of hawkers, porters, rickshaw wallahs and traffic-trapped motorists add a sense of urgency and thrill to the mesmerizing turmoil. Aromatic spices of vendors peddling food waft in and out of the congested, overflowing labyrinth of alleyways and stalls. Visually, the bazaar is like an ever-turning kaleidoscope of color and faces that move in increasing tempo as one advances deeper into the bazaar.

Sadar Bazaar is the largest wholesale market in Delhi, India, home to one of the leading spice markets in Asia. All of the goods are carried in and out of the heart of the market by human labor…pushed, pulled and heaved around by the sweat of day laborers.

For the past 18 years, Ram, has been hauling carts like this one, piled with a half-ton load of printed materials, for approximately 200 rupees (3-4 dollars) per day. Many laborers earn significantly less.

All Photographs copyright Gary S. Chapman

(Nikon D4, 24mm f1.4, 1/2500 sec, f2.8, ISO 800)

(Nikon D3s, 70-200mm f2.8 @100mm, 1/2000 sec, f2.8, ISO 1000)

An orphan bathes with water from a well that was just dug on the property.

Some of the more than 500 children assemble for a time of singing.

Lunch being served to the children.

Children at the orphanage eating lunch.

In the middle of a tiger preserve, eighty miles from medical facilities, in an area frequented by Maoist terrorists, live 525 orphans and children at risk. They have no electricity and live in mud and straw homes. Yet, Central India Christian Mission provides food and education for them in the best way their current resources allow. “If we had not accepted these children, ” says Ajai Lall, founder of CICM, “most of them would have died because there was no one to take care of them. Before we got these children, they were living under trees and tin sheds. There was no school in the whole region.”

Many of these children were left to fend for themselves when their parents traveled to large metro cities in an effort to make a living for their families. Some of their parents ended up as bonded laborers in the cities and have not returned to their children. Other children at the home were rescued from child slavery. Pappu Sadhu, CICM area director laments, “Child bondage labor is a critical problem in my country. Through this children’s home we have saved so many children from slavery.” Laws exist in India to ban the use of young workers. But, in the rural areas surrounding the children’s home, many children are forced into labor by wealthy land owners looking to exploit them for higher profits. Throughout India, estimates of child laborers, ages 5-14, range as high 44 million. UNICEF statistics even go as high as 75 million. Many of these children were sold as bonded child laborers to cover some small (relatively speaking) debt their families incurred.

Sadhu added that there are still so many children waiting for an opening in the home, “Now, we are not able to take them. We need more space. We need more food. We need more teachers.”

Listen to a short sample of the children singing.
Orphans-Singing Click Here
Call to action: Visit http://www.indiamission.org/ and sponsor a child.

All Photographs copyright Gary S. Chapman

(Nikon D4, 70-200mm f2.8 @135mm, 1/1200 sec, f2.8, ISO 400)

(Nikon D4, 24mm f1.4, 1/60 sec, f7.1, ISO 3200)

(Nikon D4, 24mm f1.4, 1/160 sec, f2, ISO 100)

(Nikon D4, 70-200mm f2.8 @135mm, 1/640 sec, f2.8, ISO 200)

(Nikon D4, 24mm f1.4, 1/250 sec, f2.5, ISO 3200)

(Nikon D4, 24mm f1.4, 1/60 sec, f4, ISO 4000)

A teacher with her students in one of the mud and straw buildings.

Boys read and nap in a dorm that holds over 200 children.

Wheat harvest in India

Last fall, while traveling throughout India, I hoped to happen upon a woman in a colorful sari working in the lush green of a rice paddy. It did not happen. This spring, on a return trip, wheat was being harvested and I began to wistfully search for a red sari in one of the amazingly beautiful wheat fields we passed. My travel companions even joked about me buying a red sari and stashing it in our gear. The day I saw this lady in the field, I practically yelled at our driver to stop.

Although we were not able to stop long enough to find out this woman’s name or story, I was captivated by the sheer beauty of what I had pre-visualized. Maybe next trip I will find the perfect rice paddy and have more time to get the full story.

India is the world’s second largest producer of wheat, and this year is expecting a record harvest.

Photograph copyright Gary S. Chapman
(Nikon D4, 70-200mm f2.8 @ 200mm, 1/1250 sec, f2.8, ISO 100)

Maya in prayer after her baptism.

Maya being baptized.

New Bible given to those baptized.

The serenity on her face is evidence of the peace she says is now in her heart. Maya, 21, raised in a Hindu home, chose to follow the teachings of Jesus and express her decision by baptism.

But, painful memories of her family’s rejection after her decision are still very close to the surface. In a quiet voice, almost tortured by the recalling, Maya relates, “As soon as I accepted Jesus Christ, my family disowned me. They told me, ‘We have nothing more to do with you. Go away from us.’”

In India, where only 2.5% of the people are followers of Jesus, leaving the Hindu traditions of your family often results in rejection and persecution. Maya, her face encircled by her white Sari, looks up and says, “Even though my family has left me, I feel the peace, the calm, the presence of my Lord Jesus Christ in my heart and in my mind. And, it has changed me completely.”

All Photographs copyright Gary S. Chapman

(Nikon D4, 70-200mm f2.8, 1/640 sec, f2.8, ISO 3200)

(Nikon D4, 24mm f1.4, 1/200 sec, f1.8, ISO 5000)

(Nikon D4, 70-200mm f2.8, 1/320 sec, f2.8, ISO 3200)

Sakshi, 8, sprinkles flower petals on her brother’s grave on Easter morning in central India.

Candles and flower petals cover a grave on Easter morning in central India.

Four-thirty on Easter Sunday morning, the cool pre-dawn air in the cemetery is infused with the sweet smells of incense and candle smoke. The cacophony of morning traffic and the dry heat of 100+ afternoons is still hours away. Stillness reigns.

Family by family, little groups of people filter into the Christian cemetery in central India to honor and remember their deceased loved ones by decorating the simple graves with flowers, candles and white chalk dust. It is their custom to celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. They believe they too will one day be resurrected to be with Jesus as well as with their family and friends.

Most are silent as they light the candles or incense, cover the mounds with quilts of flower petals, or wrap the headstones with garlands of yellow and orange flowers. A few kneel and pray.

The graves, now resplendent with their new coverings, are left to shimmer alone as the several hundred early-risers leave the graves and gather in a clearing to sing and listen to scripture readings. The gathering ends just as the sun begins to light the eastern sky.

All Photographs copyright Gary S. Chapman

(Nikon D800, 50mm f1.4, 1/60 sec, f2, ISO 2000)

(Nikon D4, 24mm f1.4, 1/80 sec, f1.8, ISO 3200)

(Nikon D4, 50mm f1.4, 1/200 sec, f1.8, ISO 3200)

Street beggar comes to my window in India

Street beggar giving thanks in India

Beggars in Nepal, Haiti, Israel-Arab Quarter, Israel-Christian Quarter and India

Begging. It makes us nervous. We squirm. We try to look away. We attempt to ignore.

But many places I go in the world I can’t ignore those that are begging. My heart screams to help. My head, in frantic fits of logic tells me why helping is a bad idea.

While the poverty is real,  beggars in some countries beg as part of organized crime. Babies have been rented by beggars for better results. Children have been maimed to attract soft hearts.

Will my giving actually help (other than ease my conscience)? Will it reinforce a culture of dependency? Will it just reward criminal gangs that “own” the beggars?

I don’t have any hard and fast answers. I have given. I have ignored. I have laughed and played with children beggars without giving them anything. I have bought food for obviously hungry beggars. I have said NO when pushed by overly aggressive beggars that don’t sit right with me.

All I know for certain is, that in a few weeks, I will have the same battle of choices during my next assignment.

SOP 1 Classroom-Photo by Bethani Montgomery

School of Photography 1 Class 2012-Photo by Josh Fletcher

CNN Photo Blog-Gary S. Chapman 2011-Persecution in Pakistan

Few people know about the plight of Pakistani Christians. My photos on the persecuted community living there are on CNN’s photo blog. Vivian’s reflections on our experiences are linked on the Belief Blog. Please go to the links below and feel free to comment and share to get the word out.

CNN Photo Blog

CNN Belief Blog

A worker feeds a child with disabilities.

A child brushes his teeth at the children's home.

Children play in the shadow of the Bal Bhavan children's home.

Children at Bal Bhavan praying before bedtime.

“We’ve found babies in the trash dumps.”

“We’ve found babies in the train toilets, on the train tracks.”

“We’ve found babies at our doorsteps.”

“People leave babies at the hospital sometimes.”

“In Hindi, the word orphan means ‘a godless child.’  So we call this place a children’s home. Bal Bhavan (the name of the home) literally means ‘children’s palace.’ We want them to be able to call this place their own home.”

–Lashi Lall Howard–Director of Bal Bhavan Children’s Home.

We have all seen them…ads asking us to support orphaned kids. Who do you believe? Who do you support? Well, I have seen these kids CICM helps. Their workers are amazing. Your money won’t be wasted here. CICM–Central India Christian Mission supports around 4,500 children throughout India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Bal Bhavan is home to 98 children.  Click CICM to help. NEWS UPDATE**Just found out another 350 kids were supported yesterday after people viewed video and photos produced by Andrew Tucciarone, Jon Sturdevant and myself. A few weeks ago 225 people stepped up to help kids too. This should be very encouraging to all photographers and workers in this field.

All Photographs copyright Gary S. Chapman

(Nikon D3s, 50mm f1.4, 1/400 sec, f1.4, ISO 2500)

(Nikon D3s, 24mm f1.4, 1/6400 sec, f1.4, ISO 200)

(Nikon D3s, 70-200mm f2.8 @85mm, 1/320 sec, f7.1, ISO 200)

(Nikon D3s, 24mm f1.4, 1/125 sec, f2.5, ISO 4000)