Robert Nicod — India 1977

REPORT 01 / 08

CountryIndia

CitiesVaranasi · Calcutta · Delhi

Year1977

Plates70

India 1977

First great journey, first great reportage. At 23, with a friend my own age, I discovered India. Varanasi, Calcutta, the streets, the ghats, the packed trains: a country seen at human height, up close, in the movement of the street.
India appeared to us as a teeming, colorful, noisy world, at times fascinating, at times harrowing. The crowds, the smells, the scenes of daily life and the omnipresent poverty confronted us with a reality very far from anything we had known until then.
What struck me most was this poverty lived since birth, by people who have never known anything else, and the humility with which many of them, even the very old, seem to accept such a hard life, almost like a positive resignation, without jealousy or any glance at the neighbor's fortune. An existence reduced to the essentials (earning one's own keep, and that of one's family) pushes some toward withdrawal, indifferent to the fate of others; others, on the contrary, toward a disarming solidarity. A phenomenon that can be seen all over the world, but which India reveals with a particular intensity.
After a few days, we decided to leave this commotion and continue our journey to Nepal.

Plate I — India 1977

70 plates

India 1977 — Flatbread seller, Delhi 1977 — PL. 1 Flatbread seller
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Daring crossing, Delhi 1977 — PL. 2 Daring crossing
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Ascetic at sunrise, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 3 Ascetic at sunrise
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Ritual bathing in the Ganges, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 4 Ritual bathing in the Ganges
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Waiting for the train, Delhi 1977 — PL. 5 Waiting for the train
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — A moment of complicity, Delhi 1977 — PL. 6 A moment of complicity
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Crowded alley, as everywhere, Delhi 1977 — PL. 7 Crowded alley, as everywhere
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — In the heart of the ghats, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 8 In the heart of the ghats
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Typical shop open to the street, Delhi 1977 — PL. 9 Typical shop open to the street
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Old woman at work, Delhi 1977 — PL. 10 Old woman at work
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Everything can be reused, Delhi 1977 — PL. 11 Everything can be reused
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — The joy of being together, Delhi 1977 — PL. 12 The joy of being together
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — The street as their only refuge, Delhi 1977 — PL. 13 The street as their only refuge
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Flower market in front of a palace-like residence, Delhi 1977 — PL. 14 Flower market in front of a palace-like residence
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Street vendors, Delhi 1977 — PL. 15 Street vendors
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Old colonial houses of Old Delhi, Delhi 1977 — PL. 16 Old colonial houses of Old Delhi
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Friendly closeness, Delhi 1977 — PL. 17 Friendly closeness
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Sadhu: a Hindu ascetic who has renounced material life for a spiritual quest, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 18 Sadhu: a Hindu ascetic who has renounced material life for a spiritual quest
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Little girl selling, anxious look, Delhi 1977 — PL. 19 Little girl selling, anxious look
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Animal cruelty as entertainment, banned today, Delhi 1977 — PL. 20 Animal cruelty as entertainment, banned today
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Nothing but life itself, Calcutta 1977 — PL. 21 Nothing but life itself
Calcutta 1977

India 1977 — Calcutta 1977 — PL. 22 Calcutta 1977

India 1977 — A fleeting, joyful and astonishing meeting of two worlds, Delhi 1977 — PL. 23 A fleeting, joyful and astonishing meeting of two worlds
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Two friends, nothing more, Delhi 1977 — PL. 24 Two friends, nothing more
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Western couple, Delhi 1977 — PL. 25 Western couple
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Waiting to leave, Delhi 1977 — PL. 26 Waiting to leave
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Delhi 1977 — PL. 27 Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Street barber, Delhi 1977 — PL. 28 Street barber
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Varanasi 1977 — PL. 29 Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Food distribution, Delhi 1977 — PL. 31 Food distribution
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Sacred cow, free in the alley, Delhi 1977 — PL. 32 Sacred cow, free in the alley
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Little torment, between laughter and teasing, Delhi 1977 — PL. 33 Little torment, between laughter and teasing
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Howrah Bridge, Calcutta 1977 — PL. 34 Howrah Bridge
Calcutta 1977

India 1977 — Boats moored on the Hooghly, Calcutta 1977 — PL. 35 Boats moored on the Hooghly
Calcutta 1977

India 1977 — Dense crowd: 650 million Indians in 1977, more than double today, Calcutta 1977 — PL. 38 Dense crowd: 650 million Indians in 1977, more than double today
Calcutta 1977

India 1977 — Coconut stand: to be hacked open, or not?, Calcutta 1977 — PL. 39 Coconut stand: to be hacked open, or not?
Calcutta 1977

India 1977 — Firewood reseller, Delhi 1977 — PL. 40 Firewood reseller
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Bathing in the evening light, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 41 Bathing in the evening light
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Jama Masjid, Delhi 1977 — PL. 42 Jama Masjid
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Rickshaws waiting outside the station, Delhi 1977 — PL. 43 Rickshaws waiting outside the station
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Porters serving a wealthy traveler, Delhi 1977 — PL. 44 Porters serving a wealthy traveler
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — City bus and swarm of rickshaws, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 45 City bus and swarm of rickshaws
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Tea boiling over embers, Delhi 1977 — PL. 47 Tea boiling over embers
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Out to see two tourists, Delhi 1977 — PL. 48 Out to see two tourists
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — A man at the window, Delhi 1977 — PL. 49 A man at the window
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Crowd in front of the cinemas, Delhi 1977 — PL. 51 Crowd in front of the cinemas
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Purifying bath in the Ganges, a daily ritual, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 52 Purifying bath in the Ganges, a daily ritual
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — A look that tells of daily hardship, Delhi 1977 — PL. 53 A look that tells of daily hardship
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — The crossroads at dusk, Delhi 1977 — PL. 54 The crossroads at dusk
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Flying on the swing, Delhi 1977 — PL. 56 Flying on the swing
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Women carrying dried cow dung, the household fuel, Delhi 1977 — PL. 57 Women carrying dried cow dung, the household fuel
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Child in the light, Delhi 1977 — PL. 58 Child in the light
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Factory and encampment on the outskirts of Delhi, India 1977 — PL. 59 Factory and encampment on the outskirts of Delhi
India 1977

India 1977 — No room left, on the roof of the train, India 1977 — PL. 60 No room left, on the roof of the train
India 1977

India 1977 — Man in a white cap, beard dyed with henna, Delhi 1977 — PL. 61 Man in a white cap, beard dyed with henna
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — The ghats, spiritual heart of the city, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 62 The ghats, spiritual heart of the city
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Pilgrims from all over India, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 63 Pilgrims from all over India
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Indian tourists on the Ganges, Varanasi 1977 — PL. 65 Indian tourists on the Ganges
Varanasi 1977

India 1977 — Under a scorching sun, Calcutta 1977 — PL. 66 Under a scorching sun
Calcutta 1977

India 1977 — Flooded street, Calcutta 1977 — PL. 67 Flooded street
Calcutta 1977

India 1977 — Children happy to be photographed, Delhi 1977 — PL. 69 Children happy to be photographed
Delhi 1977

India 1977 — Inner courtyard, Delhi 1977 — PL. 70 Inner courtyard
Delhi 1977