Kaleidoscope

Before going to the Zoo, I came out of Byculla Market and saw this old man sitting at the counter of his grocery shop. It was a busy Monday morning.

"Assalam-O-Alaikum Chachcha!"... I greeted him. "Walekum Assalam !!"...he returned the greetings with a typical stranger's face.

It's a different kind of thrill to talk to strangers and try to match with their wavelength. While I have a camera in hand and see a peculiar faces, my feet just refuse to move ahead. I feel it is the right subject for a picture, and then I start exploring the possibilities of capturing that personality.

Though a person is a single individual, he/she has multiple 'faces'. Facial expressions speak a lot more than words. Sometimes we see a particular expression and think or believe, that the person is 'that expression' only. Actually there are many more personalities in that person which we do not take into consideration. Or is it that we choose to see what we want to see? :-)

When I met this stranger, he was not so eager to talk to me, and he had a very strange expression on his face. When I started talking to him about his business, well-being etc, the lines on his face started taking a variety of dimensions ...just like a kaleidoscope! :-)

To see one more of his expressions, click here.

Venue: Byculla market, Mumbai. April 2008.