My Interview with The Word. Magazine
I was recently interviewed by The Word. about my love for street photography in Mumbai. Their Instagram post featured a selection of quotes, so I’m sharing the full interview here for readers who’d like to experience it in its entirety. My thanks to chief editor Nandini Bhalla for reaching out and for the opportunity to share my story with her readership.
1. What inspired you to start taking photographs of Mumbai
I was a street photographer before I knew that it was a genre of photography. The urge to pick up a camera and photograph the world around you is likely universal. For me, Mumbai became my home, and there was so much of it, so many things that were foreign to my eyes, that I wanted to capture it all. At first, it was for the benefit of an invisible audience. In my mind, I would always think, “If they could only see this back home.” But what I was doing too early on was developing my photography skills and sharpening my perspective. Street photography became my passion and eventually, part of my career. If there were a lifestyle defined as someone who is obsessed with a city and is always photographing it, I would be one of the many flagbearers.
2. What do you love about Mumbai
Mumbai is a hectic city. Noise. Construction. Masses of people in flux with the office timings, traffic paralleling the trains and metro. People are almost always visible on the streets, even in the early mornings. For someone like me whose passion is street photography with an emphasis on people, it’s a mecca of possibilities. If I were to sum it up in one word, it’s motion. The city is always in motion. Compared to cities back home I’m used to visiting, which now resemble ghost cities by comparison, Mumbai is a place that looks like Mardi Gras crowds on the streets every single day.
3. Why is Mumbai so wonderful for street photography
I’ve boasted in the past and still hold onto the claim that Mumbai is the best city in the world for street photography. What makes it so are a few facts that, when compared against other megacities in India and the rest of Asia, for that matter, are quite astounding. 20 million people or so, all confined within a narrow island strip. People usually don’t think of Mumbai as an Island, but technically it is…it’s surrounded by water. Just try walking out of the place without crossing a bridge. And with all these people, there are a couple of forests that boast leopards. From these semi-wild places, villages and neighborhoods stretch for miles north to south. There are several Koli fishing villages along Mumbai’s coastlines, including the prominent Worli Village, which makes Mumbai special. Beaches, streets, structures, and millions upon millions of people. The best part of the people equation? The overall temperament. Picture-taking is almost always welcomed – and it’s a safe city for those venturing out off the beaten path. There’s a different, more friendly vibe here compared to other cities in India. The other boast I make is that at any given time, there are hundreds of NatGeo magazine covers awaiting some lucky photographer who is ready to capture one of the fleeting moments.
4. What are some of your favourite memories and moments from Mumbai
Some of my favorite early memories are of a few individuals who showed me around to a few of the places I’d yet to explore on my own. A couple of dear friends of mine, both passed in the last few months, opened up a few places to me that I now visit frequently, either on my own or with clients and fellow photographers. Firoze Shakir was a fearless and interesting individual who showed me a lot of the off-the-beaten-path stuff. Slums, unusual places—and stories to go along with them. He knew everyone in his neighborhood, and most people who passed us by on our walks knew him. He was what I’d call a local celebrity. And he was the most audacious and busy documentary street photographer that I have met. What he didn’t capture on his main camera was captured on his phone. His captions were often poems telling stories of the subjects he photographed and often knew by name. It wasn’t uncommon for some of his stories to become newsworthy. One time in particular is when his video of a street person, who had been missing for quite some time, was reunited with his family. He was someone whose work made a difference. My other friend, Bharat Mirchandani, was a teacher and had several different careers in photography dating back to the 1980s. His father had supported his dream to purchase a very expensive medium format camera at a time when there were only a few commercial photographers in Mumbai. And he found himself in that space all the way up to the Digital Age, when the industry began to shift and wane. He was also an excellent food photographer. He would often cook his own food for the briefs and photograph them to spec for his clients. He introduced me to the shipbreaking yard at Darukhana in South Mumbai. We also talked photography shop for hours over beers. Both my friends are sorely missed. But I have Mumbai to thank for introducing me to them. 5. Are there any neighbourhoods you enjoy visiting the most? My favorites include Versova Beach, Chor Bazaar, Worli Village, Sassoon Docks, Dharukhana, and a few select spots in Aarey Colony, where my favorite road in the city awaits me to return to when the sun is about to rise.
6. Which photo from this series is your favourite, and what makes it your favourite?
I have two favorites. The first is of the couple with the umbrella being struck by a wave during the monsoon season. As someone who had been taught at a young age to always watch the sea, I knew this couple was about to get wet. They were too close to a surging sea, along with a few other couples who were perched along the rocks at Bandra Fort. Fortunately, no one was hurt when the inevitable wave came. The other image is probably one of my top ten images because it captures the joy of the residents of Mumbai. You can also see the unmistakable Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the Dadar-Worli skylines in the distance, making this an unmistakable Mumbai-centric image.
