Images – People at Work

In the recent past, I have been fascinated by the diversity of occupations that people around us practice. Knowingly and unknowingly, I have been photographing occupations for some time now, not always classifying and photographing because they are occupations but merely due to aesthetic value of what is unfolding next to me.

Here is a collection of images of people at their work.

One of my favourite subjects for photography is chai-shops and dhabas. You will find one not too far from you, no matter where you go. And each one has its own character. Some, like the one below, are open spaces that are quickly converted into a shop using nothing more than a stove and a bunch of utensils assembled over a pile of stones. And there are some that are built with make shift walls that could merely be a set of plastic sheets. They come in several different versions as well, like the mobile ones on a push-cart or the one that I saw built from the remains of an ancient truck.

people at work

people at work

people at work

people at work

We are a nation of retailers. If the numbers that I got to read subsequent to the recent announcement on FDI in retail are to be believed, we have more than a crore retailers in the country. To see the amazing variety of things that people sell, one should visit an old-worldsy market in any of our cities. They are usually hidden away from the arterial roads that may showcase swanky malls. These are the places where your mom may go to buy vegetables or your uncle may get supplies for his small business.

Some times I tend to think that the tough jobs are not just the ones that require lot of physical or mental activity, but also the ones that require a lot of waiting, like waiting for a customers, a job that every retailer will have to do except a few lucky ones who may be always busy serving the customers.

people at work

people at work

A large population in India, perhaps seconded only by agriculture, is supported by small business. A statistic puts the number at a fourth of the country’s population. Small, home businesses and industries like the one below–a setup for extracting silk yarn from cocoons–are often threatened by automation and industrialization. Yet, many survive. This silk yarn unit is one of the survivors in business, while many such units near Bangalore have closed down. But industries like pottery have survived in the absence of a prolific industrialized alternative.

people at work

people at work

In places near water bodies, lives and earnings of people living nearby depends a lot on water. Perhaps fishing, transportation on water and tourism account for much of the direct income from water bodie. It is interesting to see the diverse ways that people employ for catching fish. Throwing a net by hand, using powerful trawlers and angling are some of the ways. The Chinese fishing nets are a unique fishing style that was once popular in Kerala, though a few nets have remained in use today.

people at work

people at work

people at work

There are some jobs that are very unique, practiced by perhaps no more than a few hundred people in the entire world. The work of a mahout is one such, practiced only by a small population in India and another handful in rest of Asia. While only a mahout can tell how enjoyable his or her work is, it sure is a pleasure to watch these beautiful pachyderms being tended.

people at work

Sometimes I am fascinated by the way some very enjoyable jobs loose their original purpose to paperwork (this is only my prejudice and need not be taken as a fact). A school principal’s work, for example, is primarily to help his/her pupil learn. But I think in most occasions, a school principal is likely to be immersed in truck loads of administrative activities or paperwork, leaving very little time for teaching kids. This image below was shot on assignment for a school near Bangalore. My brief was to get a profile image of the principal for the school’d marketing material, at her desk in her room. The school administration wasn’t happy about a photograph that was taken by another photographer earlier. After I took the customary profile image, which they were happy with, I told them this can be done differently knowing the purpose for which the image will be used. I took the principal out of her desk, got her to an amphitheater and surrounded her with the kids from preschool. Here is the result for you to see.

people at work

Some jobs are truly sacred. Like that of doctors who save life, who often spend long hours working simply because someone else’s life depends on it. I photographed these doctors on assignment for a media firm that managed public relations of a semi-government organization. These doctors had arrived from the city to a government sponsored camp, where some critical care was provided to people who could not afford it.

people at work

I have always wondered on the large increase of the number of people employed as security officers in the last decade. Fifteen years ago, I don’t think we used to see a large number of private security personnel in blue uniforms everywhere. But today, every building seems to employ a large number of them. This lady, however, wasn’t a private security guard, but a government servant employed by the archaeological survey of India. What struck me and prompted me to make this image was the contrast between the colour of her bright uniform and the surroundings.

people at work

people at work

The task of a porter in the Indian Himalayas is a tough one. These people carry unusually heavy packs really high up the mountains, often in forbidding weathers and poor oxygen level. Yet, they seem to do it effortlessly and tirelessly, remaining active and cheerful even after the end of a long day of hiking. These porters, who were walking on a frozen river and carried the luggage of trekkers were subjected to a particularly difficult task. Even though they managed to put the luggage on a sledge and pull it along, they had to lift it on their shoulders where the ice surface was broken, while they climbed steep rocks in bitter cold. They were so capable, sometimes they even carried the trekkers on their back as they walked in frigid waters where the ice was broken, thus helping the visitors stay dry.

people at work

Shepherding is an occupation that we see across the country, from the deserts in Rajasthan to mountains of Kashmir. The variety of sheep that survives in these places and the purpose for which the sheep are reared can be different. The pashmeena goats found in the mountains are highly coveted for wool used in making expensive shawls.

people at work

people at work

Naturally, I have captured many images of people in my own profession – photography. It is a coveted line of work that a lot of people would love to get into. And for a valid reason – if you are well established, it is a work that takes you places and is a profession that is highly respected. As with any work that has a lot of excitement, it also comes with its share of difficulties. Photographers often have to work at unearthly hours in search of the right weather and lighting. Some genres of photography, due to the nature of preparation required, may have photographers working for very long hours and still has an element of unpredictability to it.

people at work

people at work

people at work

people at work

Like photographers, dancers fall under a broad genre of people whose work is considered art. These kalbelia dancers in the deserts of Rajasthan excel in their work and art, entertaining people who visit these desert lands. Kathakali (subsequent images) is a traditional performing art from Kerala, which involves people wearing rich colours and costumes to enact the stories from Mahabharatha. These artists are going through a long session of preparing for the show, which can be a more elaborate and time consuming process than the performance itself.

people at work

people at work

people at work

Out streets are always busy and filled with people who are engaged in some work or other, be it getting someplace, transporting goods from place to place or hawking to other people who are already busy on the road. There is a never an empty and dull moment on the streets of India’s cities.

people at work

people at work

One of the crucial jobs that is important for everyone’s well-being is the task of keeping our habitat clean. Here is a person sweeping the colourful ghats of Varanasi.

people at work

The work of camel drivers in the deserts of Rajasthan is seasonal. Come winter, they decorate their camel and hangout near sand dunes looking for tourists who want to go on a camel ride. The competition is fierce, and it takes a lot of waiting and a lot of coaxing the customers to get them on the camel back. The tourists who flock the desert in winter disappear during the hot summer months.

people at work

Not every work is occupational. It is common to find women using public tanks in the villages as a place for washing clothes, and use that time to catch up with all the gossip.

people at work

And there are some tasks, which many people assume to be a service rendered than a service that has to be paid for. This priest, like many priests across the country, probably made a living working as a priest, though people who visit the temple may never treat his availability for them as a service that needs to be compensated for.

people at work

This is an unusual way to ferry tourists, seen in Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur. Motorized vehicles are not permitted in the park, but it is a place small enough to be crisscrossed using bicycles and cycle-rickshaws. While a lot of people prefer to walk, there are a good number of people who hire cycle-rickshaws as well for transport. When someone hires a bird guide as well as rickshaw, the guide rides along with the group in his own bicycle, scouting for birds on either side of the road. Foggy weather is a common occurrence in the park area during winters, which reduces the visibility, but usually good enough for seeing birds.

people at work

It is amazing how many different types of occupations exist in this world. They perhaps number is in tens of thousands or even higher. A quick search on the internet seemed to indicate that no one has every tried to count, although occupations may have been categorized and grouped into a countable number of genres.


Images – People of Ladakh

The cheerful nature of people of Ladakh is infectious and easily rubs on to people visiting the region. It is perhaps one of the important factors besides magnificent landscapes and expansive lakes that attracts visitors from across the world to Ladakh. Here are some images of people of Ladakh.

people of ladakh

A lady at looks on as the annual Gustor Festival is in progress at Korzok Village on the banks of Tso Moriri Lake. The monastery festival is an opportunity for nomadic changspa people to get together and meet. Women adorn their turquoise jewellery and come dressed at their traditional best. People of all ages gather at the monastery, greet their friend and relative and celebrate the two-day festival that has a mix of tradition and revelry.

people of ladakh

A changspa woman with her turquoise-embedded headgear at the annual Korzok Gustor Festival.

people of ladakh

A changspa woman with her turqoise embedded jewellery at the annual Korzok Gustor Festival.

people of ladakh

A changspa woman at Korzok Gustor Festival

people of ladakh

Changspa women at Korzok Gustor Festival

children of Ladakh

A boy peeks through the window of the prayer hall at Korzok Monastery to look at the monks getting prepared for the festivals in the room, while the mountains and Tso Moriri Lake reflect in the window.

children of Ladakh

Smiling children watching dancing monks at Korzok Gustor Festival

people of ladakh

The remote Zasnkar Region gets cut off from rest of the world in the winter months, when the roads are buried in deep snow and the temperature dips 20 degrees below zero. But life must go on – the sheep have to fed, the stove must keep burning and the children must go to school. Children are going to modern schools in Zanskar only in the last few decades.

In winters, people of Zanskar rarely see new faces, except for a few adventurers who make the long walk on the frozen Zanskar River and stay for a few days in the villages before heading back. Such visitors incite the curiosity of the villagers who are always happy to begin a conversation and perhaps invite them over for a cup of tea.

This woman at Zangla Village takes a moment to talk to us at the end of day that is usually filled with lot of work even in the frigid winter months.

chidren of ladakh

A girl pauses to speak to her mother before heading out to the school, where she will be spending her first half of the day.

people of ladakh

A young man has a short conversation with us before leading his sheep into a covered stable in the evening.

people of ladakh

A lady is smiles at us looking through the window as we stop by to talk with her young lad taking care of his sheep nearby.

chidren of ladakh

A shy boy at the house where we were staying in Zangla Village poses for the camera.

chidren of ladakh

A girl smiles brightly as she starts a conversation and asks me to take her picture.

chidren of ladakh

Children are happy to see new faces at their village on a cold winter evening. This little girl sang loudly to draw our attention, as her shy brother looks on hiding behind a stack of wood and hay.

chidren of ladakh

A curious young lad at Zangla Village, Zanskar.

people of ladakh

people of ladakh

Traditionally, people gave up their ownership of land and home to their children after crossing certain age, built a khangbu—small house of their own—and retired to a life of simple living. I have never really seen a Khangbu anywhere in Ladakh. Perhaps this is a fading tradition, as I have seen houses where elders still share the family house.

In Zanskar’s Zangla Village, we saw this bunch of old men and women sunning in the evening. Some were busy knitting while everyone made some casual conversation, sometimes between themselves and sometimes with us.

people of ladakh

An elderly woman wearing sheepskin over traditional goncha smiles at us, while a young girl wearing a woolen sweater stands next to her.

chidren of ladakh

These children, who were playing quietly just outside their village at Lamayuru, pause briefly to look at the visitors.

tourists in Leh town

It is perhaps important to include tourists in the population of Ladakh, especially in the short summers when their numbers swell and perhaps exceeds the residents by manifolds. Leh, once a trading center and a town where several trading paths intersected and goods exchanged, now sees an influx of large number of visitors in the summer months when the weather is at its best. A good percentage of Ladakh’s population now depends on tourism income. This is also a time when there is a temporary immigration of a workforce that caters to tourists, who go back in the winter months when there are hardly any outsiders in the town.

people of ladakh

One of the great characteristics of Ladakhis is their abilities and physical strength to cope up with harsh weather and subject themselves to hard work. On a difficult expedition of walking on the frozen Zanskar River, Zanskari porters play the role of heroes who go to great extent to keep their visitors comfortable. They carry the luggages, cook and sometimes even carry trekkers on their shoulders when there is a need to step into the frigid waters. After a long day’s walk of pulling the load on their sledges, a porter still has the time for a big smile, and energy to collect a big load of wood by scouring the mountains.

people of ladakh

Porters warm up in a cave and cook their food as they get ready for a cold night with temperature reaching 20 degrees below zero in Zanskar.

people of ladakh

A porter who accompanied our group on the long expedition to Zanskar from Leh, walking on the frozen Zanskar River.

people of ladakh

Sheep and Pashmeena Goats are an important part of Ladakh’s rural economy. While Barley fields take care of feeding the villages, Pashmeena Wool brings the much needed cash to buy everything else needed for the household. A shepherd is herding the goats back home after a day of taking them to graze in the wilderness of Nubra Valley.

Also read: my essays on the people of Ladakh.


Faces of Ladakh – The changspa women at Korzok

At the Korzok Gustor Festival, the nomadic changspa women turned up in large numbers, many of them wearing their best dresses. Some pictures.

ladakhi people

ladakhi people

ladakhi people

ladakhi people

ladakhi people

Prints of all the images available. Request for prints.