Delhiwale: A videographer’s dream fulfilled

When Raju was growing up, he had a consistent, compelling dream. Someday, someday… he would become a videographer.

When Raju was growing up, he had a consistent, compelling dream. Someday, someday… he would become a videographer.

Raju at a wedding banquet hall in central Delhi. (Mayank Austen Soofi / HT Photo)

Not everybody’s childhood vision comes true. But in Raju’s case, he’d already set up shop as an independent wedding videographer at the age of 19.

Now in his 20s, we meet him at a wedding banquet hall in central Delhi, at 10 in the evening, waiting for the guests.

Every time a person steps inside the hall, Raju leaps from his chair, turns on the camera flash and catches the action.

“I love capturing their expressions,” says Raju, whose career has been rapid but difficult.

Within five years, he had become sufficiently adept to go independent and now has his own helper.

The only hitch is the seasonal nature of weddings, which thrive in wintertime but then tend to slacken. “When there aren’t any weddings, I work in card shops.” A particular perk of the job is the constant attention he inevitably gets.

Raju enters the banquet hall reserved for men and every eye is following him, waiting to be noticed. After doing the round, he heads for the hall for women.

He will return home early next morning, after a hard day’s night.