Original subtitles

The men who enter our building...

are not so good.

They are drunk.

They come inside and shout and swear.

The women ask me...

''When are you going to join the line?''

They say it won't be long.

lt's almost impossible to photograph in the red light district.

Everyone is terrified of the camera.

They are frightened of being found out.

Everything is illegal.

There's a whole separate society within itself...

l mean, you just walk down that one lane and it's another world.

l knew l couldn't do this as a visitor.

l wanted to stay with them, live with them and understand their lives.

And of course, as soon as l entered the brothels...

l met the children.

The brothels are filled with children, they are everywhere.

And they were so curious.

They didn't understand why this woman had come and what l was doing there.

They were all over me, and l would play with them.

And take their photographs and they would take mine.

They wanted to learn how to use the camera.

That's when l thought it would be really great to teach them...

and to see this World through their eyes.

Kochi is in the class.

She's the quiet type, shy with the camera.

And if Shanti doesn't get her way, she get's mad and runs away.

l like Avijit but he gets upset if someone calls him fat.

And Suchitra... whatever you give her...

she quietly takes it.

She doesn't fight with anyone.

When they beat Manik, he gets mad.

He never bothers anyone.

Gour, if someone calls Gour ''garu'', ''cow'' he gets mad.

He picks his teeth all the time.

My name is Puja Mukerjee.

l live in Abinash Kaviraj Lane.

l'm ten years old.

For Geeta Masi upstairs, l do dishes...

l bring tea, do errands.

She gives us money.

l mop twice a day. The porch too.

ln the evenings, if they want, l do shopping.

Until 1 1:00 at night, if they want curry or rice...

l have to get it.

l keep thinking...

if l could...

go some place else...

and get education.

When you hold the camera, take your time to look.

Don't just go like this.

lf it's not right here...

l'll move a little bit...

and make sure everything in the whole square...

looks good and then l'll take the picture.

So just do it more slowly. So l want her to look.

Just today, l took someone's picture and he badmouthed me.

l didn't mind. You really have to put up with a lot...

if you want to learn to do something well.

l never really...

think about being rich.

Even if l was poor...

l would have a happy life.

One has to accept...

life as being...

sad and painful...

that's all.

Pick up the bucket.

You do it. l don't have any more to do.

You selfish fucking bitch. You can't even fetch water properly.

Hey, l didn't take your water.

You know how to use your filthy mouth all right.

You worthless little cunt.

Go tell your mother to get fucked.

l have to do something...

with my sewing and photography.

l need to make a living and take care of my sister and me.

People ask me why am l in lndia, why l come and do this work.

There's no rational, logical reason why l do this...

but l feel very connected to the women...

and now their children.

Does she like this one?

She should be able to say why she likes a photo or doesn't like it.

She doesn't have to agree with anyone.

l don't like this one because it's just one head sticking out.

You know what? She's right, it's one head sticking out.

That's why l like it and that's why she doesn't like it.

l like Zana Auntie's class a lot.

l like taking pictures.

Editing pictures...

l only like a little.

l like taking pictures more.

l feel shy taking pictures in public.

People tease us and say mean things.

They say...

''Look at them taking photographs...''

''Who knows where they could have bought...

those cameras from!''

Can you see, Grandma?

Look carefully.

Grandma, please...

look carefully.

Close one eye...

open the other...

and take a look.

-Can you see it now? -Yes.

Sister, let me see.

My God, how beautiful!

This picture is funny to me.

Maybe it's just because l'm a westerner...

but they look like an old married couple holding their twins.

He is like my brother!

No, no way... l'm not going to do anything anymore.

Why are you lying so much?

Avijit keeps teasing me.

lt's a funny photograph because l know that's not true.

ln the photography class, l like to do the selection thing...

like...

l like this one, or that one...

He gets to run around taking pictures.

But our parents don't let me go anywhere.

He beats me up all the time...

-Why? -l don't know. l don't do anything...

He punches me if l touch his kites.

And what if you get separated from Manik...

would that be okay?

Yes.

When l was taking this picture...

Shanti came and put her hand in front of the light...

and so her hand came into the picture.

Dad, they tore up one of my kites.

When l was little...

the police used to take my mom.

My dad would take me to the court to get her.

They'd ask her: ''Are you going to do it again?''

She'd say no.

Then they'd let her go.

My mom is very worried about Shanti's future.

ln our room...

there is a rod...

and from there we close the curtain...

that way we don't see anything that's going on.

When my mom works in the room...

we go up on the roof and play there.

lt's a lot better to fly a kite in the evening.

l live here with my grandmother...

because my mother can't take care of me.

My father tried to sell me.

lf my sister didn't come to get me, my father would have sold me.

l worry that l might become like them.

Kochi is very shy and demure.

So if somebody is gonna force her into prostitution she's not going to say no.

She's never said no in her life.

So you can imagine what's going to happen to her very soon.

The children ask me for help. They ask for it all the time.

And it's heartbreaking, there's so little l can do...

all l can do is try.

Why do you want to put her in our boarding school?

Kochi has a very hard life.

From 4 o'clock in the morning, she works with me cleaning houses.

She works so hard that she doesn't even have time to rest.

But now she makes some money cleaning houses.

lf she gets into the home.

that money won't be there anymore.

Yes, true...

but l'll manage it somehow.

Why did you bring her in and not her mother?

She's sitting right over there.

There's...

no problem with her mother...

just that she's temperamental.

She's lost six sons, her husband died too.

She tried to kill herself by jumping off the Howrah Bridge.

Since then, she doesn't behave normally.

Was there any treatment for her?

Yes, there was, but they said she has emotional problems.

Maybe it will get better over time.

So, you want to admit Kochi in the boarding school...

Yes.

Yes, l want Kochi to fill in the application...

and l want her to go to the boarding school and study.

lt would be good if she could study.

But we have certain rules and regulations over here...

l can't...

promise anything.

But we'll take in the application.

We need three copies of her photograph...

passport size...

and the grades from her school.

Babu...

finding her papers without her brother's help is difficult.

l have eaten and l will throw up!

Move!

You're taking them on a visit to the zoo?

Son of a swine, sit!

Avijit won't let me sit in his lap.

This is even hurting me! Riding like this tends to hurt.

Wow!

Look that building!

l'm gonna take a picture to.

Faster, faster. They're going to beat us!

Why don't you go faster? You're going so slowly!

Am l doing it right?

The animals in the zoo are shut in their cages...

they are fed only once a day, and that too just a little.

The elephant is running towards us.

He must be hungry.

People feed them plastic bags.

The animals don't know.

They think it's food and eat it up...

which is harmful for their health.

You shot two rolls of film which is very good.

But the pictures all came out blank which was not very good.

-Why? -Because you went out at night, right?

You should know by now...

you can't shoot at night without a flash.

l had absolutely forgotten.

What are they doing?

They're carrying a dead man to the graveyard...

when you pass away, l'll carry you just like that.

Yeah, right. You'll die way before me!

No, l won't!

One day, l opened the camera and the whole roll got burnt...

so l don't open it anymore.

She's really good at photographing on the street...

and no one has really done that in her neighborhood.

Like outside her house. And she's very bold.

Tell her that you know how people get angry on the street...

but she's so bold she gets away with it.

She's one of the few people in the class.

Generally, people get angry if shots are taken on the roads.

No, nobody gets mad at me.

Yeah, because she is very strong.

One girl got mad and said: ''Why did you take my picture?''

She tore up her picture and said: ''Give me the negative!''

l said: ''Heck, no negatives''.

Then l walked away, she said nothing.

The greatgrandmother, the grandmother the mother are prostitutes...

but they have better surroundings.

lt's a Brahman family, they're very sort of regal...

because she eats well, she's dressed well...

she's not obviously poor...

but she's heading for prostitution.

Pest of a bird.

ls she always this quiet?

Quiet? My God!

She never listens to me.

She never listens to me.

My mother is lying a lot.

She said her mom is lying.

Just ask my grandmother.

She's asked to ask her grandmother.

Oh my God...

how much has to be done!

My voice will crack...

and hands will ache.

l like the way Puja behaves.

Whenever she eats something, she shares it with others.

You don't even have to ask.

One day, l went to Puja's house and saw her dad beating up her mom.

l asked Puja about it...

She said...

''My mom didn't give money to my dad for his drinking...

so he beat her''.

l wish l could take Puja away from here.

When she grows up, she'll end up on the streets.

She'll do drugs and snatch people's money.

lt's my picture.

Why do you think it is yours?

lt was taken with my camera.

l know! But just because it's your camera...

doesn't mean it's your photo.

A composition means how you put shapes into the box.

The lines of a picture.

These are all very, very good compositions.

You can see everything that is going on around.

There's so much information in this picture.

There's layers of people in the foreground...

middle, back... and it's just a beautiful photograph.

Suchitra!

Tell us about your picture.

This is my friend's sister.

One day, she was drying clothes on the terrace...

she asked me to take her photo...

so l got irritated and took the picture.

Suchitra's mother is dead.

But her aunt wants to send her to Bombay to work ''in the line''.

She's talked to me about it many times...

and asked me not to tell anyone.

l know about her family...

she has pressure on her.

All the girls in Suchitra's house are in the line.

That's why she never goes.

Suchitra's aunt will put her in the line because she'll make money on her.

Do you see any solution to all this?

No.

One of the girls was already married off at age 1 1.

Another was forced into prostitution at age 1 4.

These are all my students.

They have absolutely no opportunity without education.

The question is can l find a school? A good school...

that will take kids that are children of prostitutes.

l'm totally independent. l've been living and working...

in the red light district in North Calcutta for a number of years.

-Which red light district? -Ramagana Sonogachi.

Where you've been living for a number of years?

On and off, so l've been teaching well. Basically.

l'm a photographer and l've been photographing the lives of the women...

and l got very close to the children...

and l started teaching them photography two years ago.

There's one group l'm very close to...

and l'm trying to get them out of the brothels.

Trying to find schools, good schools for them, but...

l'm looking for a boarding school...

cause otherwise they go back to the red light district and then...

One of the girls was already forced into prostitution.

These kids want to be out of there.

Are there any boarding schools that will take them?

Cause l found that people don't want to deal with children of sex workers.

No place is the right place. Nobody will take them.

Who will take them?

l take pictures to show...

how people in this city live.

People here live in chaos.

ln the village...

people may have a mud house, but they are happy.

Nobody lives as filthily as we do in our country.

Wherever there are dirty plates, we find shoes right next to them.

ln no other country have l seen this.

That is why l like photography...

l want to put across the behavior of man.

Whose pictures do you think are better, yours or Manik's?

Avijit's.

When a camera is in my hands...

l can take a picture of someone...

who has gone away, died or been lost.

And have something that l'll be able to look at...

for the rest of my life.

l like to draw pictures...

because l want to express what's on my mind.

l want to put my thoughts into colors.

Come and see all that my grandson has won because of his paintings.

This one is full. The box below is full.

All these boxes are full of awards that he has won.

He has drawn and won everything.

When he was small... lt's a picture of that time.

Avijit's picture as a baby.

l love this, because it's a self portrait...

but you can also see the street.

You can see the environment where he is.

He's just got so many different kinds of pictures on this one contact sheet.

And the details here, the windows, the shutters and wires.

So many different angles, and things in the foreground, and background...

and men sleeping and walking and everything.

Just a very good contact sheet.

ln our room, liquor is sold...

almost first thing in the morning.

The men drink and then go to the girls...

give them some money, and spend time with them.

Some men drink and don't pay.

Then l have to go after them and be mean...

because that's all we have.

My father's name is Sunil Halder...

and he is almost forty.

When l was two, he married my mother, and at that point...

another man got my father addicted to smoking hash.

At the time...

a man got my father adicted to hashish.

ln the past...

my father was a very good man.

He used to be very fat...

and he could easily beat up two men at one time.

He was well known and even now...

if his name is mentioned in the Bazaar...

people recognize him.

But now, my mother has left and he just smokes all day.

That is why nobody pays attention to my father.

But even then...

l try to love him a little.

My mom lives in the village.

Nobody cares about her.

My mom used to say jokingly...

''l'm going to send you to London to study''.

We don't have the money to live, let alone for studies.

Hurry up. The bus is here.

Hurry. Everyone's waiting.

l've been waiting for such a long time.

Can l sit by the window? l want to take pictures.

Everybody is finally here. We can leave.

-We're leaving. Let's go! -One minute!

One minute. One minute.

One minute. One minute.

Could you ask everyone if they've got their cameras cause l don't see them all.

Okay.

We're leaving.

Look at the water!

There are animals there.

Look at the ocean!

Gour!

lt's you and me!

A big one is coming!

This time we're gonna get wet.

Take a picture of me.

Look at the sky. The moon!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Beat that son of a bitch. Beat the son of a cunt fucking bitch.

Oh God!

You aren't the only one who's brought up kids.

Naked fucking whore...

giving out all the time in your room.

l'll have you and fucking Latka thrown out!

Acting the part of a butt fucking saintly wife!

lf we are sluts, what are you?

You are twice the sluts we are.

Do you hear me...

or do you have a dick in your ear?

You fucked your son and your grandson.

Go and fuck your ass.

l'll give it to the motherfucker.

You get angry at him and take it out on us.

Get over here.

Pretending to be saintly in Sonagachi!

l'm not a social worker. l'm not a teacher, even.

That's my fear, you know, that l really can't do anything.

And that even helping them to get an education is not going to do anything.

But without help, they're doomed.

l can try to find a boarding school for you...

but you will have to study.

He never studies. He only plays with his kites.

So do you want to go to a boarding school?

Do you want to go to a better school?

You'll have to work hard and improve your grades.

We're going to go and find out exactly what we need for the school applications.

l've got the original birth certificates, Xeroxes of the birth certificates.

The reason this is so difficult is cause their parents cannot be criminals.

And their parents are all criminals.

They're all prostitutes, dealing drugs, selling alcohol illegally.

l don't understand, you know.

Everyday. Come tomorrow, it will be done.

You said it would be done today. You promised it would be done today.

You promised it would be done last Tuesday. You can't put a stamp on this?

-What is his father's name? -Sunil.

He spells it with a ''V''. lt's on his birth certificate as a ''V''.

The original ration card says ''V''.

V. l.

Aiy, V. l. V. V.

First you have to make an application saying that l lost my card.

Take it to the Ration Officer at Amherst Street, Calcutta.

Then he will forward you a letter after putting a stamp on it.

Then you make another report and take it to the police.

Once it is brought back here, you will be given another form.

Then fill that form in and bring it back to this office.

l just wanna know how long it's supposed to take once you have all this stuff.

Seven days to a month.

l could kill this ration guy.

So now you die here, stupid! Die, die.

She always has to get her way.

So l need to go over everything that they need because l don't, l don't...

-Yeah, birth certificates. -l have birth certificates.

And ration cards.

They don't, l mean, if l have to go to that ration card office again...

l think l'll just jump off a bridge.

Oh my God. l've already...

Okay.

Medical certificate, some sort of medical certificate.

Are they HlV positive?

l have no idea.

Do you think it would be possible that they might be carriers?

Yes, definitely. lt's clearly possible, l don't know.

l mean, l'll do it, if you want, but l don't know.

Just get a medical certification.

So l'll have to take them to the doctor.

Kianti: bad news.

Potentially devastating news.

She called and she said that the medical tests are compulsory...

and they can't move ahead until l have the results of the HlV tests.

And that if they have HlV, they won't take them.

-You'll just take a little blood, right? -Yes...

you won't even notice.

Like an ant bite?

Not even an ant bite.

lnjections, God.

-l don't like shots. -lt won't hurt...

Just like an ant bite. Like candy.

Yeah, right, just like candy.

Now l'm gonna tie the band.

-ls it tight? lt has to be. Does it hurt? -A little bit.

-lt hurts! -No no, it won't hurt at all.

lt is hurting!

Let's see this vein.

l'm afraid.

Take it easy. We're done.

Perfect.

That's it.

Very good.

Keep your arm like this and hold it tight.

Good news. They're all negative.

Very happy.

Does her mother have to tell her to work?

l'll throw you out, you little bitch.

l like her, but sometimes she says such mean things.

But l don't care. After all, she's my mother.

l know what she does for work...

and l feel bad talking about these things.

l don't want to say it, but the more l'm growing up...

the older Ma is getting.

She'll pass away someday.

l have a small sister. l'll have to take care of her.

My sister has taken four pictures like this.

Right now, l'm looking for grant money.

My goal now is, l mean, is to teach them...

but also to raise money for them using their own photography...

selling their photographs to raise money for them.

Amnesty lnternational is going to use the kids'photos for their calendar.

And the photos are being auctioned at Sotheby's.

The whole point of this is to get the kids out of the brothels.

lt's Shantis photograph.

l don't know if you know Robert Pledge from contact Press lmages...

but he's come out to teach the kids.

He runs a pretty major photo agency in New York City.

He's become very involved in the project, and very supportive.

Can you all look here and tell me if there are other pictures...

in this series that any one of you like particularly.

-And uh... -Sorry.

When l first saw this picture it was very strange because...

The tone of the sky has almost joined with the tone of the real paper.

lt looks like the body starts from the top of the paper...

Almost as if the top half of her body didn't really exist!

So l was very surprised when l saw it...

for the first time.

Avijit is very, very exceptional.

Very special.

He has a natural talent. And...

this organization in Holland, called the World Press Photo Foundation...

every year invites nine children from all over the world...

to come and spend one week in Amsterdam...

and look at photographs...

that are made by 4,000 photographers all over the world.

And one of our ideas is to get...

Avijit to come and be the child photographer from lndia...

to be present at this show. And this is a very special thing.

As a grandmother, you should feel very happy and very proud.

lf you are pleased, so are we.

So far we've had two exhibitions in NY, but you haven't been able to be there.

So...

l've organized an exhibition at the Oxford bookstore on Park Street...

of your photographs.

Only of your photographs. And...

So you will all be the guests of honor.

You're mothers are invited as well, so all of your...

Ma can't come, she has to cook.

What is it?

An invitation to the exhibition.

Who is the second one for? Mother?

Mother can't go.

Because of the baby.

Will Tapasi have to go?

lf anybody looks after the baby, they want 10 rupees.

We don't have it.

Nobody here understands anything but money.

Every morning l read just one palm, not all day.

Do mine, do mine!

Will l get a lot of money?

No, money will not remain with you.

Look at his hair!

There it is!

Oh, they're all here. Amazing.

-How are you? -l am very well, thank you. How are you?

ln yesterday's newspaper...

there's an article.

You are published on the front page of the biggest newspaper in lndia.

World famous.

l'm gonna show you the pictures we're gonna put on the wall.

-Who's picture is this? -Shanti.

Shanti. Like it?

This is another picture.

What do you think?

lt's so pretty! The moon looks so beautiful.

This is... these are who's?

Avijit.

And the last picture is the one that's in the newspaper.

That's it. Congratulations.

Enough! Please, relax.

And now, they get to sign the pictures.

My hands are shaking.

Zana Auntie?

There will be a lot of people at the Oxford Gallery, yes?

Yes, lots of people.

Here it is.

Oh my God.

Our pictures.

That's us there.

l like it very much.

-l like it... -l like it...

-very much. -very much.

This is her hand.

Her hand in front of the camera.

l shot this one and that one.

Did you do it by yourself?

At first l didn't really get it.

But then Zana Antie said: ''Come on, Saturday...''

and l went and saw a camera for the first time.

So we met Zana Auntie and liked her...

as soon as we saw her.

And since then Zana Auntie has been teaching us with a lot of interest.

She teaches us so well that everything goes into our brain.

We like doing photography so much...

that we forget to do our work.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

l'm not sure...

but l want to be a photographer.

These photographs will now travel to different parts of the world.

And the proceeds from these exhibitions will go to one single purpose...

a decent education for the children, and hopefully a chance...

to know a world outside of the Red Light areas of Calcutta.

Star News.

Avijit's mother died.

Some kind of kitchen explosion accident. l hope it wasn't...

Do you know how she died, what happened?

Her pimp set fire to her in the kitchen.

He burned her.

That's what l thought, as soon as l heard kitchen accident.

l'm very worried about him now with this news.

Will there be any police?

Nothing.

So sad.

l used to want to be a doctor.

Then l wanted to become an artist.

There is nothing called hope in my future.

He isn't going to school at all.

lf he doesn't study, how will he grow up?

He has to become someone of standing, he will have to grow up.

Tell me, how will he do that if he doesn't study?

l am studying.

Even if he misses his mother...

his exams are staring him in the face.

They start this Wednesday.

l'm always carrying his bags!

Wait, wait, wait. l want to talk about this.

Where's Avijit?

He won't be coming today.

He's gone out with friends.

Everybody knows that Avijit is supposed to go to Amsterdam.

He still hasn't got his passport...

because there were a lot of problems.

But if he goes, he's going to represent all of you and the photo class...

and all of the hard work that you've been doing.

Did they invited us in?

-Why didn't you come today? -l went to art class.

Why didn't you tell us you weren't coming?

l didn't know...

my friends had to come tell me.

l want to get his two rolls of film.

l go to study in the morning, then l go to school.

ln the afternoon l have no time, and in the evening it gets dark.

He's got school in the morning and he's got school until five, right?

What about your photography? You don't care?

No.

l'll do it later.

l could not get a passport for that kid.

l went through everything. l couldn't do it.

Actually, it hasn't even been confirmed...

so l can't even tell you his passport application has been accepted.

There is no way to get this kid's passport...

because he lives in the Red Light district.

l'm afraid the whole thing's going to fall through because of...

Well, l'm afraid the whole thing's going to fall through too.

Avijit hasn't shot anything at all, because he's just... somewhere else.

You guys, you...

and you, and you...

have been accepted into a school.

My Granny will never let me go to a boarding school.

l'm the only child.

She can visit. lt's not like it's far.

Will we have to eat only veggie food there?

Yuck, l don't like veggie food.

Which is more important?

Eating chicken or going to a good school?

This is where they will keep their clothes...

Also, they will have to make their own beds.

They help the small kids, but the big kids have to do it themselves.

My daughter? She'll have to do it herself?

She'll have to.

But small kids won't have to.

That's good.

-l wanna use it too. -Hold on.

Can't do it. What do l do?

When l learn the computer...

l can write to Zana Auntie in America.

lf they're ready to admit the girls, they have to understand a few things.

We want our girls to go to University.

lf they admit their kids here...

the girl can be a doctor...

can be an engineer...

can be a lawyer...

They will have a normal life.

So there is one thing, very important, that l am asking now.

They can admit the kids today.

And they can remove the kids whenever they want.

This is not a jail, they are free.

But today, l want their verbal commitment...

that they won't remove their kids until they finish their studies.

lt means another ten years.

They have two or three holidays of ten days each, per year.

But for example, when there are wedding ceremonies...

when the grandma has died...

or the birth of a nephew...

No wedding ceremonies, no birthdays...

no grandmothers, no dead bodies, nothing.

For all these things, they cannot remove their kids.

Their first priority is their studies, their schooling.

Puja won't eat well by herself.

She eats just fine.

The fact is, Puja's mother spoils her a little.

She has to learn to eat by herself.

-They gave us so much rice and meat... -Baisakhi left half of it.

-See you tomorrow. -Bye, bye.

Are we getting off in front of our house?

Stop the car.

-Bye. -Bye.

-Tomorrow, at eleven. -Bring your camera.

You're coming tomorrow to our place to take her...

right?

Please, write me the address, okay?

This guy, Tim Grandage, who runs Future Hope...

only wants kids from bad backgrounds...

so the children of sex workers. lt's for boys only.

And there's pretty much nowhere else for these kids to go.

Nobody else will take them.

l would say there are two that need to get out very urgently.

Do they know each other?

Yeah, they live in the same brothel.

-Which one you're most worried about? -Avijit.

l mean, Avijit always's asking me...

he says l hate it here, l can't do anything here, l can't study.

His one grandmother, l think, really cares for him but has no control over him.

His grandfather and his father are just sort of not effective at all.

l think he's gonna turn out to be a real bad kid soon if he doesn't get real help.

He's got an ego, for sure.

l think if he's in the right environment he'll also...

He wants to be good. But he has no guidance.

ln the last few weeks he's had a real change of heart about everything.

And he seems to be pretty apathetic. l think he's reached a critical point...

and if he doesn't get out of there really soon, he's lost.

That's how l'm feeling about Avijit. He's a very bright kid, very talented.

Give us five minutes. Give us a chance and let us chat next door.

-Give us five minutes. -Ok, thank you.

lf you don't have a good foundation, you can't build.

But they have to start at a certain standard.

And if you work hard, then you go up very quickly.

l'm not going if...

they put me back two grades.

lsn't it better to be with good people that care about you?

And that want to teach you well? Than a number?

But, you know, it's up to you.

l wanna go to school.

And as for you, if you want to go...

they'll take you.

Yes, l'll go.

But he understands, right? This is the only choice.

lf he doesn't take this offer then that's it, he stays at home.

There's nothing more l can do. Or want to do.

Maneck has also, l think, been accepted into the same school as Avijit.

Oh, l'll be happy to get rid of that brat.

l told him to go to his class and he ran away.

l told him to earn me 200 rupees per month so l can feed him.

So he gave me 2 rupees...

and ran away to play marbles.

Shanti's all right, but this one is a weasel because he's younger.

l'm not worried about sending her off...

in fact l feel happy, l feel good.

lf only it wasn't today.

My mother died on a Thursday at five in the afternoon...

Since then, l don't do anything special on Thursdays.

Ma, can l go?

You can go tomorrow, but not today.

Everyone is going today. lt's the last chance. There's no other opportunity.

l can't let her go on a Thursday.

The last time l did something on a Thursday l suffered greatly...

l'm still carrying on that suffering.

l'm leaving.

You didn't touch your mother's feet.

You didn't touch your mother's feet.

Now you can go?

lt's good for her. Her future.

-l know, she will grow up well. -You can see her. Every month.

One time.

l only cried a little but my mother was so sad.

But you will get used to it.

Wow, you've got a whole lot of things.

Shanti.

Shanti.

Look, there's no need to be sad. l'm not crying.

Bye, Manik.

Don't cry. Everything is gonna be alright.

Gour's going to miss me a lot, that's for sure!

They're not coming back anymore

They're not coming back

They're gone forever

Now l'm going to go live with Ross

There's Sabera. ''Sabera'' is written right there!

There is no way that l'm going to get Avijit's passport...

without someone higher up intervening.

l don't think this kid is going to get a passport.

School thing. His birth certificate.

A letter from student counselor.

A copy of the ration card.

Corrections for the ration card.

Letter from Bob. Letter from World Press Photo.

And an invitation letter for Avijit.

So, if that doesn't do it, then nothing will.

-Avijit, where are you going? -Amsterdam.

-When? -Tomorrow.

-Are you excited? -Yes.

l'll see you soon.

We'll see you later. Bye bye.

Please, drive slowly. lf there's an accident, l won't get there.

l won't fulfill my dreams.

Priya Auntie, does the window open?

-Can l open the window? -No.

Now l feel like taking pictures.

This is a good picture.

We get a good sense of how these people live.

And though there is sadness in it...

And though it's hard to face, we must look at it because it is truth.

Hold them together.

Avijit returned to Calcutta...

and chose to enter the Future Hope school.

Manik's father would not let him go to school.

Puja's mother withdrew her from the Sabera school.

Shanti left the Sabera school of her own accord.

Gour still lives at home...

and hopes to go to university.

Tapasi ran away from home...

and went to the Sanlaap school for girls.

Suchitra's aunt refused...

to let her leave the brothel.

Kochi chose to stay at Sabera.

She is happy and doing well.