India’s street children
Shekhar Sahni, 21, ran away from his home in eastern India at the age of 12, ending up in New Delhi, living at the railway station and becoming a “rag-picker” scavenging among refuse heaps for recyclables to sell. In his teens he fell into drugs, but has lately kicked the habit and is working at the charity that helped him. (Daniel Pepper / For the Times)
Far from “Slumdog Millionaire,” for real street children, survival comes more from street smarts than luck.
Women wash clothes on a platform at the New Delhi Railway Station, where hundreds of families live. At any given time, there are an estimated 300,000 children on the streets of Delhi living with their families, and 50,000 on their own. (Daniel Pepper / For the Times)
Shekhar Sahni works as a counselor with the Salaam Baalak Trust, founded by director Mira Nair from the proceeds of her film “Salaam Bombay.” The charity, which tries to provide food, shelter and counseling helped Sahni in his teens. (Daniel Pepper / For the Times)
Many of the children, whether they are on their own or with their families, survive by scavenging as “rag-pickers,” or begging and are vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse by criminal gangs and at city shelters that house adults and children together. (Daniel Pepper / For the Times)
Children get some food at a platform at the New Delhi Railway Station. Shekhar Sahni said he liked the movie “Slumdog Millionaire,” but wasn’t impressed by the way it depicted street life, except for the on-the-street-training the kids are shown to pick up. “The streets make you smart, Sahni said. You grow up fast. (Daniel Pepper / For the Times)
Shekhar Sahni plans to eventually move to Mumbai and try his luck breaking into the film industry there. He recently started studying French and Spanish in hope of becoming a professional tour guide, if acting doesn’t pan out. (Daniel Pepper / For the Times)
