Acid attack victims captured in stark monochrome

A young photojournalist intrigued by the post-traumatic life of the acid attack victims is showing the world, the pains and scars of such women, many of whom, however chose to live bravely after the incident.
"I started the project on my own over two years ago. I was intrigued by the life of these survivors and decided to train my lens on them to capture the emotions and the emotional scar that they carried after the assault," Ravi Choudhary told PTI.
Last year, the photographer applied for a fellowship at the National Foundation for India (NFI), which decided to fund his exhibition.

The images in stark monochromes, simultaneously captures the sinister shadows of the crime that wounded them and accentuates the emotional contours on their faces.
The victim belong to many cities of the country and Choudhary's lens captures the beauty and tragedy of these women, who endured physical and psychological pain.
The 29-year-old has titled his exhibition "Diaries of Acid Attack Victims."

One of his photographs features a victim named Sapna who has been captured covering her face with both her hands. A running caption says, "My attacker must feel the terrible pain caused by a drop of acid on skin."

Another victim Ritu is portrayed as smiling, her hand showing the bruises she suffered.
Another caption reads beside a partly veiled woman, "Wah ta weapon! A 20-rupee bottle of acid. Cheaper than a bullet. It killed me...". It accompanies the photograph of Sonia, who had a a can of acid flung on her in revenge by her neighbour.
Then there is the poster girl of all acid attack fighters, Laxmi, who was inflicted the damage when she was 15.
She smiles in a monochrome frame hung from the bricked wall at the India Habitat Centre.