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Born into Brothels, Accepted into NYU
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 9, 2008
Modified Sep 9, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 9, 2008
Modified Sep 9, 2008
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Of all the kids in this year's freshman class at NYU, it's probably safe to say that Avijit Halder is the only one who's the son of a drug addict and Calcutta prostitute who was burned to death. At age 11, Halder was one of the children featured in the Oscar-winning documentary Born into Brothels, about the perilous lives of children in Calcutta's red light district. The film's director helped Halder get out of the slum and into America, where his talent for photography (and a lot of financial aid) won him admission to the Tisch film program. Unsurprisingly, it's been an interesting transition; Halder tells the Sun that his NYU classmates continue to amaze him: "There are these moments in the classroom when they ask, 'What's your favorite line from this movie?' and I'm like, 'Oh my God, who are you guys?'"
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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