Bengal-Nagpur Railway Construction, Photograph No. 29 when first observed, is very overwhelming due to the fact that there are many people photographed and becomes hard to distinguish what job an individual is performing. The majority of the people photographed seem to be Indian men, it becomes easier to think this because low-income people would wear white cotton clothing due to its low cost and it can be observed because the white of the clothing pops up in the sepia-colored photograph. Also it is safe to assume that the majority are men because it can be observed that many are undressed from the top part, probably because of the intense heat. A couple of women can be seen carrying baskets and either they too are working or they are in the construction site to provide men with food. It can also be observed that there are houses alongside where the men are working, they seem temporary homes and by the number of people working it could be assumed that they are shared and thus, very crowded. Also, there is a pile of branches on the bottom left hand corner, possible resulting in the collection of the trees that were taken down in order to place the railroad tracks. The photograph gives the viewer the sense of all the hard work that the workers put into finishing their task. Observations that can be made are that probably the workers work from sunrise to sunset because of the proximity of the houses to the work site. Also it is safe to assume that this photograph was not staged because of the large number of people and the energy that seems to be going on. Also, the railroad system seems to be just introduced to the area because it is going through a forested area. Two questions that rise from observing this photograph is, as more advancement is made to the rails, what happens to the houses, do they stay in the same place for the duration of the construction or at what point one “team” finish their part and a new “team” starts? Also how are the workers being compensated?
http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/eaa/id/1490
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