Pultzer Prize Analysis

By Kaitlyn Evans

During the COVID-19 pandemic this picture was taken in India on May 4, 2021. The boy in the blue is kneeling in front of the cremation of his 45 year old mother who died due to the coronavirus. Regardless of race, age, or religion everyone has some sort of bond with their family. Photos that show grief or sadness over loved ones really stick out to a lot of people because it brings out a sort of empathy towards others. The Pultzer prize winners,Yunus Siddiqui, Sarah Siddiqui, Adnan Abidi and Amit Dave accepted the Pultzer awards in 2022.

The photographers captured an important and memorable moment in history because not everyone may have seen their mother be cremated and mourn over it, but many people lost family members due to covid all over the world. 

Danish Siddiqui was a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist, he was born May 19th  1983, and was the chief photographer for reuters. He graduated with a degree in economics and later pursued post grad in mass communication studies. In 2021 he was killed while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban forces near the Pakistani borders. Siddiqui has two children and a wife that tell his story. I believe that a huge reason his picture won is because his wife and children are also mourning over the death of him. Siddiqui wasn’t only a husband he was a father , a good one that had talent and a keen eye. Yes the picture is very sentimental and meaningful but the fact that his wife, two children, and many other people that have experienced the loss between a loved one whether it be the pandemic or sickness can all understand and feel the same pain the boy felt in the picture. The “boy” in the image’s name is Pranav Mishara, he is 19 years old and till this day is still grieving over the loss of his mother, the pain never went away it just gradually became more tolerable over time. 

This image stood out to me because the contrast of the bright blue jumpsuit Pranav is wearing and the yellowish brown tint from the environment around him makes you stare at Pranav. Looking at his stance, the angle of the camera, and the people around him makes you look around the image for more details of what is going on. The masks being worn and the background of the old buildings peeling and wood burning gives an effect of a disaster and extremity of what is going on. In the image you can see the concern of the other people around him trying to comfort him in a sort of way, but the other focal point is the boy in the bright light pink shirt that seems to be attempting to help and support Pranav during the pandemic.