Portraits

Delhi is home to over 20 million people, of mixed ethnicities, religion, cultures and wealth. The photographs in this collection do not attempt to summarise this diversity, but instead to show the people that can be found in those areas of Delhi I found most interesting.

Nevertheless, something of Delhi’s variety can be seen in these photographs: in the city’s mosques, we see dignified Muslim elders, with neatly trimmed beards, shawls and karakul hats; in the many dargahs, wilder-eyed Sufis can be found; and at the Shia Jama Masjid, tension can be seen in the faces of the Shia Muslims before the Muharram rituals begin.

At the spring festival of colours, Holi, the bodies of many Delhi-wallahs (irrespective of their religion) will be covered in coloured water and powders. Hindu holy men often bear the marks of their religion on their foreheads, as of course do women, indicating their marital status. To those who can decipher the code, clothes, style of dress and jewellery also give away much about a person’s background.

In many places in Delhi one see hijras. These trans-sexual men are considered the ‘third sex’ in India and command respect, fear, fascination and repulsion in equal measure. They can be found alongside Tibetan refugees, Central Asians, South Indians, Arabians, and more, and are just one of the many surprises that can be seen in the faces of this city.