Kolkata photographer gets Getty Images Instagram Grant for project on Jharia coal mines

Photographer Ronny Sen of Kolkata was among the three who got selected for the second annual Getty Images Instagram grant, that recognizes those who have documented the work of underrepresented communities around the world using just Instagram. 

It would be a major undersell to call him one of the "lucky" winners, because his work really speaks volumes. The prestigious grant of $10000 was for his project "The End", that documents life at Jharkhand's Jharia coal mines and the. "An underground fire has been burning inside these coal mines in Jharia for the last one hundred years," Sen writes in one of his posts. 

 

Children wait for their parents to return from work, both of whom are coal pickers inside a coal mine in Jharia.

A photo posted by The End (@whatdoestheendoftimelooklike) on Apr 21, 2016 at 4:22pm PDT

The Instagram profile appropriately named "What does the end of time look like", offers a poignant look at the lives of the people who stay in the area and work at the mines.

 

The symbol of Indian bureaucracy, the iconic white ambassador car waits inside one of the coal mines in Jharia. Whenever the coal thieves see this car coming they run away from the mines.

A photo posted by The End (@whatdoestheendoftimelooklike) on Apr 21, 2016 at 4:25pm PDT

Mentioning how Jharia was once covered in green and has now been reduced to shades of black, much like the situation of the people, he explored how detrimental the dependence of the locals on the coal business has been.

 

A contractual labour inside one of the coal mines in Jharia. He will make two dollars after loading almost five trucks with coal in Jharia.

A photo posted by The End (@whatdoestheendoftimelooklike) on Apr 21, 2016 at 4:17pm PDT

 

Industrial dynamite being laid for a blasting inside one of the mines in Jharia.

A photo posted by The End (@whatdoestheendoftimelooklike) on Apr 21, 2016 at 4:15pm PDT

Some of the photographs show how people are going about the business collecting coal under deplorable conditions, far from what can be called safe.

Talking to HuffPost India, Ronny Sen said, "The story is not only specific and limited to India at all. It is just a coincidence that Jharia is here. It's an economic, environmental and deeply political problem which is predominantly visible across the world... I hope that this can initiate a dialogue and show people a small glimpse of a possible future that is coming towards us."