University student Pradiptamoy Paul currently lives in Siliguri, West Bengal, but he still regularly visits his home town of Mathabhanga, a few hours’ drive away. On the day he took this photograph, back in 2023, he had done some work in the morning and was taking a walk by the Mansai riverside, hoping to capture something special.
“It’s a residential area and there are no industrial sites nearby, so the water here is clean,” Paul says. “In this photo there is so much going on and so many characters. The boy at the front was taking a rest, someone else was splashing in the water, another boy was jumping from the concrete. And the boy jumping from the top corner happened spontaneously, at just the right moment! It’s impossible to say who the actual hero of this photograph is. They’re children immersed in a moment of energy and joy – they’re all heroes.”
Paul says he chose to strip away the colour of the photo to “allow the raw emotions of the boys and the timelessness of their joy to take centre stage”.
“The beautiful thing about street and documentary photography is that you encounter thousands of characters, all with their own story,” he adds. “Childhood is a time without the burden of responsibility, when we live in our own fun. I hope this image inspires others to seek out that same sense of freedom and happiness in their adult lives.”