In 2021, I started cycling across India with a Nikon D850 camera and a loose plan to photograph whatever I found along the way — people, places, small routines of everyday life. I wanted to step away from a fixed routine and spend more time on the road, and cycling, with its slower pace, seemed the best way to do it.It wasn’t meant to be a long project. And yet five years passed as I got to know the people of my country, and the journey turned into nearly 21,000 kilometres across 28 states and more than 180 villages.
Bishnupur in West Bengal is famous for its exquisite terracotta temples. But while there, I was drawn to the vanishing cultural tradition of Rabankata, a 400-year-old folk dance drama rooted in the Ramayana. The performers wear heavy handcrafted wooden masks and vibrant costumes made from dyed jute fibres. The masks here are of Vibhishana, Jambavan, Hanuman and Sugriva.
| Photo Credit:
Navin Paul
Baala, a 70-year old salt worker, at Sanikatta Salt Works near Gokarna. “This is what my grandfather was good at too,” he told me with a smile. He lives in a nearby village, and his wife works in the pans when more hands are needed.
