The Innate Voyeur

A gentle touch. A knowing smile. A moment so simple yet so intimate. Human emotion in its purest, most unadulterated form is found on the streets, just around the corner, sometimes on a park bench, sometimes at the most ordinary window looking on to the street. Nothing gives me more joy than just sneaking out of the hotel, when I am travelling, with my camera and walking endlessly along alien streets and alleyways, capturing these fleeting moments, when people are unguarded with their emotions. When I am travelling (except when I am asked to click cheesy ‘touristy’ pictures, complete with victory signs and jaw-hurting smiles), I try to click images that define the people more than they define the place itself. Photography brings out the innate voyeur in me. I love this art form because it helps me prove one of my firm beliefs, that ‘There are no ordinary moments.’ There is something happening at every instance. This something may not be significant to you, but it is to the people who are involved in it. I attempt to capture these ordinary-extraordinary moments.
This photograph was clicked at the Nathula Pass Sino-Indian border in Sikkim at an altitude of 14,000 ft. The little kid Lamu and her father were standing beside an army vehicle, right in the middle of all the military chaos and truckloads of arms and ammunition. There wasn’t a single civilian or army man, who hadn’t turned around and smiled at Lamu, who seemed to be unperturbed by all the sobriety and seriousness and had eyes just for her father