> Words: shouted, blabbered, shattered in between the walls

Before I Forget

Naman Shrivastava, India

My dadaji (grandfather) is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Five years back, doctor declared he has dementia. He started to forget our names, sometimes could not recognize us, and could not able to speak words distinctly. His health is deteriorating every day, he gets angry, upset easily; seeing him crying is the worst feeling ever for me. During this lockdown, I am spending more time with my grandfather. At times his sleeping pills don’t work, he comes into my room at night, which is scary but he eventually sleeps like a child in my room. Dadaji is 94 years old, there is no treatment of this disease, only basic pills, which may result in hallucinations or delusion and has adverse effects on a person’s ability to think and behave.

The condition of the family is worsened alongside the health of my grandfather.

I still cannot believe my handsome dadaji’s transformation and by documenting him I just want to keep the memory of changes, the phase and experiences we are going through as a family.

Biography

Naman Shrivastava is 19 years old, born in a small place called Vidisha. He shifted to Indore for his college where he was pursuing BA LLB degree. The idea behind photography is more than taking pictures to him. It’s about the experience he gets, and not about composition rules. Photography has become a tool for Naman to remove or divert his mind. Most of his photos are taken by his phone as he can carry it everywhere. As a law student, he is interested in public issues and hoping his formal education will catalyze his photography skills.