Tucked away in a scorching side of Pokhran, is an ugly story of a nation's atomic might. In the summer of 1998, India blasted its way into the world's consciousness by testing a nuclear device. It was heard, but in that loud rumble of earth, triggered by a series of nuclear explosions, a generation lost its voice. The desert dwellers of Pokhran, a small township in the indian state of Rajasthan are still paying the price of India’s nuclear story that unfolded in the sand dunes nearby.
The first nuclear test, code-named Smiling Buddha, was held in 1974. In another test in 1998, India detonated five nuclear-bomb at the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan, around two-and-a-half kilometres from the village of Khetolai. The strong tremors from the test made deep cracks in the mud huts, burst the village water tanks, contaminated ponds and farmland, it was something unseen and unheard of.
Bhaskar & Urvashi stand under the twilight sky in Khetolai village, 2.5kms from the Pokhran nuclear test site. They have met by chance, drawn together by shared memories of the nuclear tests that changed everything.
Bhaskar: ”A device, they said. A nuclear device. What a small word for something so large. So loud. So lasting. They told us it was for the nation, for our pride. But they didn’t tell us what it would leave behind."
Urvashi: "Look around. The soil that grows crops, yes, but crops we fear to eat. Fodder for livestock that we hesitate to feed. Tell me, – fill hungry stomachs? – heal sickness?"
Bhaskar: "Your Manisha. She was full of life that year, wasn’t she? Running through the fields, her laughter ringing like temple bells. And then, within a year after the nuclear test,… gone. Blood cancer, they said. Was it the test? Was it something else? Who knows?"
"Do you think they knew? The men who pressed the buttons, who watched the clouds rise—do you think they foresaw this? The water we drink, the food we eat—it all tastes different now. Not in flavor, but in trust."
Urvashi: They didn’t live here. They didn’t see what we saw. Feel what we felt. To them, it was a moment of victory. To us, it was the beginning of questions we still can’t answer. It’s been 25 years, but the silence left by that roar hasn’t gone away."
Bhaskar:"Maybe it never will. Maybe that’s what happens when you shake the earth too hard. It remembers. And it makes us remember, too.”
The photo project has been supported by National Geographic Explorer Grant.
Chinky Shukla is a documentary photographer based in New Delhi, India. Her work explores the themes of cultural assimilation, human condition, memory and the environment. The majority of her projects are long form photo stories looking through the layers, documenting lives, building relationships, using her camera to amplify important stories.
Her ongoing photo project, supported by the National Geographic Society, documents the region of Pokhran in Rajasthan, India, which has been a significant site for nuclear testing since 1974. Through this project, she aims to bring attention to the lived experiences of individuals and communities impacted by nuclear tests, shedding light on their struggles, resilience, and the broader social dynamics at play.