The train ride.

I was supposed to get off at Marine lines to meet a friend when I got on a first class compartment on the Mumbai local.

At the exit stood 4 girls riding the train to school. None of them noticed me when I raised my camera to capture their easy comaraderie from behind them. The train was shaking a lot (the tracks from Charni road get choppy), so I lowered my camera to open up the aperture & compensate for the blurring. When I looked up again, one girl stood much ahead of of the rest. She wanted her picture taken.

The image above says the best I could capture of her eager innocence. Of course they got off at Marine lines & I missed my stop.

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

Rajasthan 2009. Objects.

Needless to say, it was magical.

People to follow...

Back in India & catching up with friends.

Places don't mean much without people.