Water the Soul of Venice
For Venice, water is a source of life, but sometimes also a source of unease.
The month of November was a period in which Venice was brought to its knees by constant rains and uninterrupted changes in the tides. The shops, public places, cultural goods and houses of the Venetians paid the price for this unusual flood. The tourists, attracted by this extraordinary climatic event, did not stop, they continued to invade the city facing the high water between the various alleys making countless selfies.
The emptiness and silence that was in the air in Piazza San Marco caused concern. You could only hear the screeching of the Seagulls swimming freely in the square, while the pigeons that habitually invaded the whole area, were hidden among the “calle” perhaps for fear.
For weeks, the Venetians, suffering from the discomfort that surrounded them, rose up courageously every day in their daily lives. United as a large community, they helped each other by working to get out of it.
Photo selected by Urban Photo Days Award
Dhobi Ghat Laundry
An open-air laundry in the heart of Mumbai, made up of hundreds of concrete tanks containing detergent where the wash-stands remain submerged up to the knees for about 10 hours to wash the clothes of hotels, hospitals, restaurants and individuals. Here whole families live in their houses bordering on the railway and closed around the perimeter by walls. The lanes and the internal streets of the Dhobi Ghat are made of soil constantly soaked with detergent water.
Life in the Dhobi Ghat is not easy. Men and women work constantly both in washing clothes, drying them and spreading them. A swarm of people move around in the narrow streets. Men who rinse off chemical detergent every four hours to avoid skin diseases as much as possible; women preparing lunch in small houses, some in masonry and others are shacks.
Life within this village flows normally. Children go to school, play and have fun with friends. Outside the walls there are small and hidden food shops, various kinds of accessories, workshops for motorcycles, etc.