By Akash Baral
Video Title: The United Streets of Ameerpet
It was exciting to travel from the busy suburban streets of Mumbai to Ameerpet, an IT Hub where students and professionals come to update and improve their skills set to further climb up the innumerable steps of corporate ladder. The hustle bustle in Ameerpet made me realize that this street never sleeps, there is always some kind of activity going on no matter what time of the day. The day starts at 6 am early morning with GHMC Sweepers sweeping the road in a very organised manner. Soon after as the sun comes up, hunger brings people to the vending stalls for an early breakfast. The vendors could be found popularly serving punugulu, bonda, medu vada, and idli with allam and coconut chutney. Some of these vendors sell all their food and close down by noon. The vehicles start crowding the road and the traffic starts to show up by 11am . Eleven in the morning to 1pm and early evening are the busiest times.
I decided to capture the busy streets of Ameerpet because the crowds, the chaos and the constant movement fascinated me. Sitting with a tripod in a moving crowd is something I was very inexperienced with but somehow I got through it. While shooting the timelapse people always seemed to be fascinated with what I was filming and for what purpose which I gladly explained. I kept them interested after I explained the reason. Interestingly enough a majority of people who came up to me asked about the project and had a wide variety of suggestions, but nobody happened to object somehow which was unexpected to me.
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