Musicians, Rajasthan.

The people in the images aren't related. These images were shot hundreds of miles away from each other.

The young boy belongs to a family of musicians. The eldest of 3 siblings, he recently lost his father & saw his mother married off to her younger brother in law (a prevalent custom in rural Rajasthan). He has a sweet voice but has a long way to go before he's able to draw large crowds. He must learn the art from his step father/uncle to help support his family.

The older man is a musician who lives in a remote village in Badmer. Every morning he gets on any bus or truck that'll take him to the local district & plays to collect spare change. He knows no other trade. Many of the younger generation in his village have given up family customs such as singing & dancing to learn more sustainable trades such as carpentry & plumbing to support their families. The instrument he holds is at least as old as he is. He can only guess his age in years.

Cameras used: Canon Digital SLR Camera EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EOS 400D Digital SLR Camera (incl. EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens Kit)

Lenses used:
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens

Shobha & Mithoba.

Shobha's a farm laborer. One of many in Maharashtra (India) that live in small huts on the farms they and their spouses work on.
She keeps her parrot in a cage so small, his tail grows out crooked. It's the best she can afford. The parrot (Mithoba) imitates the calls of the farm peacocks and laughs raucously afterward. He loves peanuts and green chillies & makes straight for Shobha's modest kitchen each time he's released. She's the only one who can hold him. He keeps the neighbors entertained.

The Dhangars (shepherds). The poor little rich community.

I've never seen their riches personally, but all over Maharashtra Dhangars (the shepherding community) are notorious for hoarding large amounts of wealth & evading taxes since they don't own property. There are tales of them having whipped out hundreds of thousands out of their hats to buy tractors and other frivolous items on a whim.
I ran into one group while visiting my grand parent's farm in Ahmednagar. The men are much easier to approach. The women are shrews to the bone. And they wont be captured on film (willingly at least) without promise of hard cash. There's no point in arguing with them because they'll either walk off or set their dogs on you.
Women in the community are married off very young & the kids hardly attend school. The schooling bit maybe improving some but these folks seem to have a big hand in bringing down the national average literacy rate.
The men & sheep move separately from the women, children & dogs. I knew this as a young girl & always wondered about the safety of the women. Till I met them. No sane male with half a brain would take on these ladies. One Dhangar woman was accosted while stealing guavas from my grand parent's farm (yes, the Dhangars believe in helping themselves liberally from farms along the way). Before the orchard keeper could say another word, she had pulled off most of her saree & started to scream assault. The keeper had run half a mile before he realised what had just happened. When he returned, the woman was gone with the fruit.
Barbed wire doesn't help because they cut through it, take what they want & then sell the barbed wire they cut. Even the police realise that it's next to futile to tangle with them. Other than that, they're a hugely interesting lot.

Cameras used:Canon EOS 400D Digital SLR Camera (incl. EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens Kit)

Lenses used:
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens