Sudder Street, Kolkata, India

Horns blow as the yellow and black three-wheeled rickshaw races through the streets in the early hours of this sunny Kolkata morning. Your eyes can’t help but widen despite the early 6am arrival time as the streets are alive and buzzing like a hive in full bloom. People of all ages and classes walk the streets filling their baskets with fruits, vegatables and whatever live meats lay in front of them at the daily morning market.

With one final sharp turn we have landed in a world within a world existing in Kolkata’s tourist zone where anything you could dream of wanting is a short walk away. Guest houses line both sides of the narrow pot holed street along with bell ringing coolies (human powered buggy), overpriced taxi cabs and textiles galore. Woven into the mesh of this street’s design is a look into the darker side of this city of Joy where children are sent to work in unfit conditions, women sit in groups begging with babies ,rented from the day form the nearby slums, hang slumped in their arms as they tug on the arms of foreign visitors with a empty look in their eyes as if to say please help me.

The truth’s hidden behind their masks is that these women are employed by a mafia type business as beggers who go to a home at night with a bed after returning the rented baby to its rightful owner. And these children who run about the streets are full time employees who have had to give up any hope of education in order to send roughly $20 US a month to their families who have agreed to this future for their child. What lies beneath this sea of souvenirs, friendly local smiles and food stalls is heartache and reality that exists for the thoes who really do call Sudder Street home.