“Akash bhai, I will meet my child in the Heaven. Do you think he/she will recognize me?”
These were her words. She was one of the regular sex workers who recently had went through a forced abortion and was ready the very next day for her new client.
Life isn’t easy for few just because they aren’t as privileged as most of us. Akash had always been fascinated by these people living at the edge of the Society. The people, whom we often talk about only on special instances. Isn’t it?
But to have an exception is a balanced justification to life’s theory. Akash is one of those exceptions who 20 years ago went to explore and lend an ear to unheard realms. He went on a mission to capture a brief but brightest moment of darkest lives. A mission, to understand the depth of Humanism. A mission to portray the pain and sufferings hidden behind beautiful souls.
She was the first one that Akash had photographed. A woman with million dreams crushed beneath a restless peace and honest laughter at the saddest place which was her home. No matter what she never used to forget to welcome her Akash Bhai with sweetest sweets in return of which she desired nothing but exchange of few of words, heart to heart.
There were many like her. Their stories and their difficult lifestyles often kept Akash awake whole night. It was then he decided to start a series of photograph that would showcase the people about them. Since then till now, it’s been 24 years him working as a professional photographer in Bangladesh, his home country.
His Endeavours :
Meeting new people, listening to their talks, learning a lot from them, and dancing to their tune are the things that inspires Akash. From the past 24 years he has dedicated his life to these people. Any way possible he has been trying to help them to let the society hear their voice which needs to be heard. In the year of 2013, he founded his photography institute – GMB Akash Institute of Photography. He takes small group sessions and trains photographers of all age the skills from all around the World.
Soon then he set up a school for unprivileged children. The start of the school happened under a tree with 30 odd children of villages. Today he the school is built and even spreading its branches in other parts of the country, helping 160 students to receive free education up to standard 5th.
Recently he has taken responsibility for the complete education of 20 young working children in the Dhaka area. He is closely monitoring them and pay visit to their parents for assuring thatthemeducating their children is the right decision and that they will receive many more rewards by going to school instead of a factory.
He has also provided scholarships to 200 impoverished students, many of whom are studying now in recognized institutions such as Notre Dame College and Dhaka University. In addition, he cares for 500 unprivileged children who are continuing their education through his self-funding.
Akashworks 365 days of a year. He works on a variety of charitable projects too. Through charity he is financially helping 20 elderly childless couples living precarious lives without any income to buy their daily food or necessities. He is also active in organizing periodic charitable activities such as distributing new clothes amongst thousands of poor people of all ages and providing the street kids the necessities right from sandals to a good meal.
And not only these, he has his own book of photography named, “Survivors”, which contains visual stories of 100s of families. Through this book he was able to locate them and help them with small businesses.
‘Heroes of life’, is his next upcoming book. It’s a 10-year long project, not just a book. It is about the real-life experiences of some incredible human beings of the lowest chunk of society who encounter hardship, suffering, and struggles but who always manage to find their way to love and light. Their voices and stories remain unheard and undiscovered.
Truly a superhuman!
A dream which he is still yet to live!
I knew nothing could stop me except myself, so I kept walking. And still now, every day, I dream to achieve my dream.
Akash was born in a family which was not so exposed to photography or “photojournalism”. His mother was the only enchanted viewer of his photographs. At the beginning it was difficult for his parents to understand what really, he wanted from his life. His Freedom Fighter father wanted him to engage in something that would bring change to the Country. So, his dreams never flew from the small window of his small house. But he had his own share of struggles.
It is about that time when young Akash used to save his pocket money by starving himself because the hunger to reach at a certain point was more than anything else. He used to take tuitions to purchase films for his camera which was an old possession passed on from his father. There were many times when he didn’t had money neither the films but those couldn’t stop his young heart.
He kept walking towards it. Being a freelancer photographer in a developing country like Bnagladesh was not that easy. It was more like a how to survive issue. At the start of his career there had been sometimes when there would be no assignments as there is so much of competition. Furthermore, many are willing to work for very little money and some newcomers give their photos to magazines for free, so it undermines the value of the activity within the country and its reputation abroad.
Further he said, “In addition to the competition into this field, many international magazines and other organizations have been sending their own photographers to Bangladesh. This results in less opportunities for the local talents. Surviving Nepotism and conspiracies I have came along log now. Thanks to the different social media today.”
The Great Words of Critics and his “Get Going” Mantra
Recognition,fame, and doing something out of the box brings with itself tough words of criticism.
Akash had been criticized for his dream nearly each day. People have a habit of judging therefore when he worked with different communities and class of society, people considered him to be one of them and even pointed out on his character. But a like a true warrior he fought back all odds. He worked for what he wanted for and today he is at that place where people have nothing else to say but just be in awe.
“The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.” – Elbert Hubbard
The heart touching warm experiences kept him inspired and get going. He shared with us one of such heart warming experiences.
“Once I was helping an elderly childless couple who had a bit of land but no way to use it and no money. The wife, Saleha Khala did not want her husband to go out for fishing every night at his age. That was the only source of living for them. On my second visit to them, I asked what I could do for them to help more. Saleha Begum had been reflecting on possible solutions and told me that they wished to get a baby calf. She wanted to take care of the calf and when it would be able to give milk, they would sell the milk in the local market thereby changing their lives. They did not have the slightest idea that I would be giving them a cow along with her calf. The moment I entered inside their broken-down hut with their gift, the couple cried out of happiness….I do what I do just for experiencing these moments. Such warmth and love make my work worthwhile.”
A tint of happiness on beautiful faces of people in need is a powerful inspiration and a source of motivation for Akash. His satisfaction of his work lies in bringing a positive change to the fate of unprivileged people.
An ultimate goal of his mastered lenses
A photographer who has dedicated his 24 years of his life to these people has only one mission and it is to bring a great improvement in society to give them a better place to sustain. It is something very rare. In the time when beautiful, sensual, artistically exotic clicks are in boom, he is catching up with his lenses running in the race to provide a different mindset in the society.
It is a long journey for him and a challenging mission, but he is already halfway through it.
“I was not aware of my ultimate destination, but the intense vulnerabilities around me prepared me to embrace my destiny. Now, the mission of photography and my life is to help unprivileged people.”
Photography is a powerful medium that has an ability to diffuse the objective information through the visual capture, surfacing the things or events just the way they really are. A photographer on a mission is someone who brings the different landscapes of community and culture together in a brilliant visual art format that narrates many emotions altogether at once. Akash’s mission to bring a change in society is commendable and The Uncommon Box wishes him all the luck for keeping this up through his photography skills.
To know more of him follow the links below:
Website: www.gmb-akash.com
Photography Workshop: www.gmbakashworkshop.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/gmbakash
Instagram: www.instagram.com/gmbakash
Blog: www.gmbakash.wordpress.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/GmbAkash
TEDx Hyderabad : Youtube Link
TEDx Youth : Youtube Link
This article is written by Alisha Srivastava. You can find her writing on her Instagram. Follow her to read her writings.
This article is Curated by @frameshade. Follow him for his photography work
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