India is endlessly fascinating to me.  All of it.   The Taj,  the glorious estates of the Maharajas, the camels, the monks.  But what  sticks in my memory of travel to this exotic and faraway place are the sights and scenes on the streets of life so dramatically different than my own. 

India is a place where most of the people live on the streets in some way.  Yes, there are the super wealthy who cluster in cloistered and privileged enclaves but more normal are the “out there” living.   People work, eat, bathe, and sleep right on the street. Their everyday lives are in full public view. 

The streets are a place where people buy, sell, socialize, congregate, celebrate, and rest. Here the boundaries between work and home, public and private, formal and informal are blurred.

 In India millions of self-employed workers use the street to earn a living. Some sell goods, such as fruits or vegetables, tea or toys. Others sell services: barbers, sign painters, shoe shiners, or mechanics set up shop with a few tools and varying degrees of skill. 

I’ve been fortunate to explore urban and village streets on Photography Tours where the goal is to get out and see real life, exploring the areas pulsing with energy during the day meandering camera in hand during the eerily quiet early morning times before daily life explodes.  

This post explores some of those experiences.  

This one in Jaipur was fun.  A man set up a photography studio on the street.  Nothing digital about it. He took our pictures and then processed the negatives and printed the images right there.  Fascinating and enjoyable.

Hair cutting and barbershops abound in India.  It’s a street activity.

in one city, we meandered into a shop where Tuk Tuks were being restored.

You can’t talk about life on the street without observing the different kinds of transportation.

In a small village I was enthralled with a blacksmith who set up shop on the main street.

So, these guys were  pretty amusing.  They were  stationed out side a large restaurant.  Our Tour Leader called them “The Ronald McDonalds of India.”  I wonder how long it takes them to get ready for work every day.

Sometimes parties erupt.

I was standing by a tea stall one early morning enjoying my chai and along came this group of ladies, singing and dancing.  Not clear to me where they were headed but they were finding reasons for joy.  If I hadn’t been with my group, I might have followed them to join the fun.

Speaking of tea, one of my favorite things about India is the Chai.  I enjoyed the sellers so much I did an entire blog post on the subject.  Click here to find it. The Joys of Chai

This made me laugh.  Hope you enjoy.  The sign is in a shop selling Sari’s.  Could have been on the street.

Thinking of going to India? 

Be aware it is more for people who are ready to trade their comfort zone for an immense cultural experience. If for you, traveling internationally is a relaxing, carefree experience with the biggest hitch being a baggage delay, it might not be the ticket to book.  But if you want to step out of your comfort zone,  India is the place to go  especially if you get out on the streets. 

I’ve traveled to India with Jim Cline Photo Tours.