India – in 5 photos

A riot of colour stolen from time

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Busy day? Take a listen to this post – read by me (with the jingle of my bangles and the shuffle of my floor cushion proving that this is not a professional podcast)

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Dear NE-One

It would be a really big task, to define India with five images: to fill those frames with the extremes that make this country the enchanting place it is. The absolute frenzy of a city like Kolkata, which is a riot of crowded roads and crumbling buildings, and yet commands a very grand sense of power. The delicate peace that fills a morning woken on Kerala’s backwaters. The humbling sense of insignificance that rises when you stand in the presence of great mountains. And the barriers that fall when a stranger invites you to tea.

From the mighty Himalayas along India’s northern border to the fertile Ganges river floodplain, to the vast drylands that stretch across Rajasthan, the tropical forests that cling to Goa’s coastline, and the insanity of cities like Delhi (population: 16-million), there are so many fragments and intricacies that combine to form this fascinating country. And of course the colour; colour everywhere.

The big picture can be daunting. At almost 3.3-million square kilometres, India is as vast as it is diverse (South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique would all fit within India’s borders, with room to spare) – and so back in 2016, on my five-week journey through India, I chose to piece together my understanding of this place by documenting the small things. Passing moments. Snapshots of time warped with the wonderful colours that make this place so extraordinary.

Shooting with my phone meant that I was unobtrusive and I shot with a freedom I rarely feel when carrying my SLR and lenses. I wandered the backstreets – always so much more interesting than slick city centres – and drank chai on the streets in the early mornings. I said yes when invited – for tea, usually, and once to have my hands painted with henna by a bride-to-be – and every day I tried to find somewhere to sit, to be inconspicuous and to simply watch time unfold.

These here are five of those moments, captured:

In a tiny rural village somewhere in Rajasthan, this man’s wife (whose names I have lost to time) invited us in for tea. The turban he’s wearing – called a pagdi – is worn by so many men in India, but the styles vary from region to region.

LEFT: Every morning in a small village on the banks of the Hoogley River in West Bengal, the doodhwallah (milkman) delivers milk to a streetside chaiwallah (someone who makes tea) by bicycle. The beautiful vessel in which the milk is carried is called a kalash.

RIGHT: Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been captivated by the clothing Indian women wear – the colours, the styles, the patterns combine to form the most exquisite “dresses” I have ever seen. Here fabric, leaves and mustard-oil cans align.

LEFT: Another moment of almost-perfect alignment – when all the colours collide.

RIGHT: Look carefully… see his shoes? They’re called jutti, and can be found in most markets in Rajasthan. Usually they’re made from camel leather.

That’s all for this week – although if you’re a paying subscriber then please scroll down – below the paywall is a gallery of more India images, just for you.

Until next weekend,