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A city where even gods struggle for space

Wednesday 15 June 2016

"Religion is a big part of people’s lives here," writes AFP's Mumbai-based photographer Indranil Mukherjee. 

But in a teeming metropolis of 20 million souls, space is scarce, so makeshift temples find their ways to the unlikeliest of places -- walls, trees, electricity pylons, even taxi dashboards...

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Mumbai, a city that never sleeps ?

Tuesday 8 September 2015

"Mumbai, an intense, densely-packed mass of humanity resting on the Arabian Sea, is where Indians from all over the country come seeking work and a better life. I was aware that India's most populous city, its commercial capital and home of Bollywood starlets, had many monikers that aimed to encapsulate its vibrant and intoxicating nature", writes AFP photographer Indranil Mukherjee. "Maximum City", "The City of Dreams" and "The Land of Opportunities" were to name just a few."

"Another popular sobriquet is "The City that Never Sleeps", and that's the subject of a photo essay I've been running on Instagram and Facebook over the past few weeks. Amid the dash to get on and the incessant honking of car horns I am always amazed by the ability of people here to get some sleep in the strangest and most awkward looking of places..."

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AFP Photo / Raveendran

India through a lens

Friday 19 December 2014

When the 20-year-old Rajeev Goswami set himself on fire at a student protest in 1990, R. Raveendran was there to capture the desperate act. His shot triggered a surging wave of demonstrations, and indirectly brought down the Indian government. Ravee, as he is universally known, has hung up his camera after a staggering career of more than 40 years at AFP's Delhi office. "It's been a fascinating four decades," he says of his journey. "I wouldn't change it for anything."

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AFP Photo / Indranil Mukherjee

A Bhopal steam bath

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Akbar Khan survived the Bhopal gas disaster 30 years ago -- but it left him with acute breathing, heart and joint problems. Steam baths are one of the Ayurvedic methods used to treat thousands like him, at a clinic in the Indian city. "It's difficult to photograph a tragedy after so many years," writes AFP's Indranil Mukherjee. "You’re trying to find an original angle and the best lighting to bring out the survivors’ emotions. But at the same time, you have to be extremely sensitive. After all, they’re having to relive the trauma of an event in which they lost a part of their life."

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