SHADIPUR DEPOT KATHPUTLI COLONY
In Delhi, a city of slums, Shadipur Depot was one of the filthiest slums of all. But visitors who braved its narrow, verminous streets would find an incredible world inhabited by conjurers, puppeteers, bear-trainers, snake-charmers and fire-breathers. Hidden away at its heart was the most extraordinary village in India. The 500 or so families who live here were some of the country's foremost traditional folk artists.
Having moved here from around the country in the hope of finding better opportunities in the city, Shadipur’s artists came from an itinerate, wandering heredity and many of their folk traditions and magic were inextricably bound to Hindu mysticism.
Though once popular distractions at weddings, private functions and religious festivals in later years the far-reaching effects of cable television - available to even the poorest households - coupled with the mass appeal of movies and videos, had pushed these traditional artists to the fringe of modern Indian society.
Continuing crafts that had been passed on from father to son, mother to daughter for generations, Shadipur's street-performers had limited opportunities - disco music, videos and computer games holding sway over traditional entertainment values. Buoyed by a strong community spirit and pride, the people of Shadipur struggle to continue their hereditary crafts as India moves into the 21st century.
I first photographed in Shadipur in 1998, and returned to complete the feature for the UK's The Independent Sunday Review magazine the following year. Over the years, whenever I was in Delhi, I'd drop by and meet with some of the families I'd photographed and share a chai. Sadly, in 2017, after developers stitched up a deal with the local authorities, the slum was bulldozed to make way for condominiums. A small number of the performers who could prove they had been long-term residents received apartments in the new development as compensation. Most didn't, and were forced to relocate and find homes elsewhere.
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