Worldwide there are millions of children forced to live on the streets. On the streets it is dangerous; there is little hygiene, violence, abuse and often the children do not have access to education or healthcare. There are estimated 10 million children in India who are fighting a battle for survival in a ruthless world of streets, most of them under 16 years old. Each day they face a new demon in the form of exploitation and abuse. They toil, they are hungry, they have no shoes, clothes and a roof and they face predators masquerading as friends. Their lives are full of despair. However, the only thing that always remain with them is never-ending hope; a hope that allows them to dream. They have dreams that make them look for happiness in the most wretched situations urging them to fight and make those dreams a reality. They sell newspapers on traffic signals during the day so that they can go to a night school, they wash dishes in roadside eateries in order to give a better, more secure life to a sibling; and they rummage through heaps of garbage to earn enough money to buy shoes. In their eyes is a dream, a glimmer of light that guides them in these dark circumstances.

I started photographing these children in 2005, hoping to capture their spirit along with their circumstances. Another factor that encouraged me to present this pictorial narrative of the life of street children was my own difficult past. I ran away from home when I was 11 and lived on the streets of Delhi before a nonprofit organization took me under its wing and helped me achieve my dream of becoming a photographer. Having lived this life I understand that buried beneath all the misery is a gritty determination and shining optimism. I do not aim to shock the viewer and push them to look at the reality by painting a bleak picture of despair and in the process, point fingers at others for their apathy. Instead of confrontation, I have attempted to portray this difficult world with soothing balm of a child's hopes. A boy joyfully looking at the pictures in the newspaper forgetting for a moment, his harsh circumstances; two unkempt girls, stark naked, playing on a railway platform, a bunch of boys bathing near railway lines, a small boy relaxing under the flyover: each picture shows the optimism of these children and their undying spirit despite cruel twists of life.

At the same this project is also a plea to give these children a chance, call for help in achieving these dreams before they are smothered. My own story had a happy ending and I wish an equally fulfilling life for all these children. The project ‘Street Dreams' is still going on which I started in 2005 with an urge to unveil different stories of dream comes true' of the stars of streets.