Hands accustomed to holding a broom and a mop were trained to handle a camera at age 71.

Photographs taken by Nihari Saha, who worked as a help in households almost all her life, found place in an exhibition recently.

“I spent most of my life working as a help. Now that my son has his own vegetable stall, I spend time at a tea shop near home. That’s where I get the para news,” said Saha, who has captured the shop at Dakshindari on her camera.

Saha, along with Haripada Sardar, 67, were the senior-most among the photographers whose works were showcased at the exhibition.

Sardar’s click shows a flight of broken steps and an old banyan tree near a water body in a semi-rural locality — his favourite “thek (hangout)”.

A mason from the Khas Mahal area near Salt Lake, Sardar had never held a camera before. He does not even own a cellphone. The daily labourer would spend most of his days looking for work or networking from under the very banyan tree that he has captured so deftly.

His world changed when some students volunteered to teach him the basics of photography. A month-long workshop, that was also attended by Saha, and three days of trial later, Sardar got his photograph right.

“This was my first time and it made me very proud. I enjoy photography, especially when I can use it to tell stories,” said Sardar, who is thinking of ways to capture his school next.

“I studied there till Class III. I was too poor to continue studies. But I still miss my school and want to shoot it next.”

The exhibition organised by student volunteers of NGO Prayasam gave a platform to 51 residents of the fringe areas of Salt Lake such as Khas Mahal, Mahishbathan and Dakshindari. College and school students from underprivileged backgrounds trained them in photography.

“The brief was to help community members tell stories through their photographs. We spent days interacting with the residents, knowing them better and teaching them photography,” said Salim Sheikh, a 21-year-old college student and one of the teachers.

Many discovered a new passion. Bishakha Halder’s world was restricted to taking care of her family and cooking for a living. “I cannot even use my phone beyond answering calls. And here I was trying to take pictures with a big camera after a month’s training,” said Halder, 32, who shot a puppy. “I love dogs and want them to be treated kindly. Photography has made me feel so free. I want to enrol for a proper course now.”

The Mahishbathan resident was joined by her daughter Mampi, a student of Class IX.

Ratna Gain, 37, of Jyotinagar captured the only remaining boat in her area. “We once had many more water bodies and boats in our locality. I remember enjoying boat rides as a child. Now we have only one,” she said.