Delhi street kid becomes professional photographer

New Delhi: Vicky Roy's big city dream started as a rag picker. After picking up empty bottles and selling them for Rs 5 each, he graduated to working in a dhaba near the New Delhi Railway Station.

“I ran away from home in 1999. The first day I was here, I slept at the railway station,” says Vicky.

But today Vicky is a photographer with exhibitions at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi as well as in London.

“Prabudhho Das Gupta is my idol. His photographs are very natural,” says the photographer.

Twenty-year-old Vicky's life changed when he was picked up by Salam Balak Trust - an NGO that takes care of street children in the New Delhi region – in 2000.

Children of Salam Balak Trust are provided an education and given a chance to find their life's calling. It was this place that introduced Vicky to reel life.

“Street boys are usually very tough but Vicky was a very soft boy. He showed interest in photography so we put him in touch with a professional,” says Founder, Salaam Balak Trust, Praveen Nair.

With several exhibitions lined up for his work in India and abroad, Vicky has surely proved that if given an opportunity even a street kid change his destiny.

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