Meet The French Woman Photographer Who Is Helping India Fight Pollution

She is being talked about a lot lately. Her photos have been in the news recently. But why is Melanie Dornier in the spotlight and why should we sit up, take note and pay tremendous heed to what she is doing? It’s for the simple reason that Melanie, a French expat, residing inGurgaon, is a wake-up call all us Indians need—it’s high time! 

The recent odd-even formula implemented by the AAP Government may have smoothened things down for a bit. However, the air quality in Delhi and Gurgaon, more importantly, is nothing less than shocking and to know that we breathe the air so comfortably is what makes it all the more frightening! 

Melanie And The Fight Against Pollution 

The French photographer and social worker has initiated a photo-campaign wherein she goes around the NCR snapping images of people wearing pollution masks and holding x-rays of a pair of lungs in front of their chests. Why, you ask. What Melanie is trying to do is enlighten the common people about the hazards of breathing in the toxic air that has become part of our very ecological system. 

“Being a mother of two young kids brought up in Asia, I worry about their health and future,” she tells us. Through the campaign, titled #IBreathe—in partnership with Airveda—Melanie and Namita Gupta aim at giving visual support to the anti-pollution crusade that they have embarked on. She further adds, “The campaign is a citizen movement to raise awareness against air pollution and encourage people to pledge to take steps, in whatever ways they can, to reduce air pollution.” 

With a clear message of equality, the campaign states that each one of us—irrespective of gender, financial status, or age—breathes the same air. The photos Melanie clicks aim to convey the adverse impact of what we are involuntarily letting into our bodies. The campaign has already received appreciation and increasing support. 

A graduate in social studies, social documentaries came naturally to Melanie who grew up in Besancon, a city in the East of France. She left her home country more than 10 years ago and moved to Asia in 2008 after which she kept going back and forth between India and China. 

The French photographer has already worked on thought-provoking projects on Indianwomen (Indian Women, With My Love) through which Melanie aims to portray India through the eyes and lives of its women. Another of her projects, A Life As A Man, shows the transformation of an Indian woman into a transgender man. 

After having been in India for an amount of time more than at least 20 per cent (if not more) of Indians, Melanie is more Indian than some of the guardians of the nation. “My love for India is difficult to describe because I am such a big fan of the country. Yes, there are negatives here, like gender issues and the fact that poverty and pollution is more accepted than it should be—the two things I cannot just overlook,” she says. But she teaches us all an important lesson in humanity. Through her effort, she is trying to cause a ripple of change that might become a wave down the line, only time will tell. 

“It is time we all come together to pledge our support for clean air by changing our own behaviour and becoming more conscious with every breath we take,” she quips. Melanie could not be more right!

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