Arvind Patwal
(India)Arvind Patwal is a Delhi-based photographer recognised for his commitment to documenting local stories that celebrate culture, people, and place. With over seven years of experience, he has travelled across India capturing festivals, rituals, and everyday life through a sensitive, human-centred lens. His work blends narrative depth with visual clarity, preserving cultural nuances and showcasing the richness of India’s diverse identity. Whether portraying intimate traditions or large community gatherings, Arvind’s storytelling offers an authentic and compelling perspective on the moments that shape contemporary India.
The School of Second Chances
Aajibaichi Shala, India’s only school designed exclusively for women over sixty, stands as a powerful testament to late-life resilience and reclamation. Here, grandmothers who were once denied the right to education return to the classroom to read, write, and sign their names for the first time. Through a documentary photography approach, this project explores how learning in one’s later years becomes a form of dignity, independence, and quiet resistance against a lifetime of limitations. By capturing their intimate moments of concentration, laughter, and rediscovery, the project reveals how education can rewrite memory and restore a sense of self long deferred.
