by Shatakshi Podder
Shatakshi’s photography captures hundreds of pairs of jeans in Old Kolkata that have been given a new lease of life and are waiting to find new owners across the country.
Spinning, winding, warping, dyeing, sizing, weaving, washing, selling…
A pair of jeans goes through much in a lifetime. And in a world hidden in an alley in north Kolkata, they get another life: here the ghosts of jeans past get reborn.
I chanced upon the ‘Jeans Gully of Kolkata’ in my search for stories and adventure in my city. In this place, old and used jeans are brought in for repair and dyeing. After that these jeans are distributed and sold all over India. Among the dilapidated buildings of Old Kolkata hang rows and rows of jeans as they get ready to find new owners.
In this world of blue denim, blue is the colour of labour. Of waiting for a new owner. Of the promise of durability.
Shatakshi Podder is a Post-Graduate student in the Department of Film Studies at Jadavpur University. She photographs people, places and desires.
