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Stranger No. 24
This, as best as I could understand, is “Palleh.” He sells fruits and vegetables in Secunderabad, which until recently was a “twin” city with Hyderabad, but was relatively recently merged. He wasn’t all that keen about being photographed, but I asked him and he agreed, so here he is.
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Stranger No. 16
This is Murgan. Technically, he shouldn’t be a part of this project as he is one of the many people who asked me to take his photo, rather than the other way around.  The idea of the project is to approach strangers and ask them to shoot their portrait.  But I thought it was such a great photo.
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Strangers Nos. 14 and 15
Arais and Veerrappam were sitting exactly as you see them here, as I walked by with my camera, and thought it was the perfect photo. Â It was about 0830 am on a Sunday, and I assume this is their shop they are sitting in front of, getting ready to open. Â We had a brief chat
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Stranger No. 12
Andanan (spelling) was sitting on the floor of what you might consider a garage, with piles of bundles of banana leaves behind him. He was taking them, one leaf at a time, and cutting them into pieces about 18 inches long, and throwing the unusable parts away. In India (Tamil Nadu, anyway), it is traditional
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Stranger No. 11
Stranger No. 11 is Abdul Ghafar. Â I actually didn’t ask his permission before shooting – I saw him across the way, and he was so engrossed in his work, and the light was perfect, so I started taking shots nonstop. Â I went over afterward to make a point of introducing myself because I specifically wanted
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Stranger No. 10
Pandiyan was also in the market. Quiet and pensive, he didn’t mind me zooming all the way in close. When I showed him his picture, he so much appreciated it that he broke off a sprig of cedar he was selling and gave it to me. I like how his eyes shine on the close-up
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Stranger No. 9
I met Salokmar at the flower market in George Town. He was somewhat reserved, so we didn’t chat much – maybe it was the fact that it was still before 7 am – but he didn’t object to my taking his picture. The flower market makes a great place for photography, with the brightly colored
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Stranger No. 8
I stopped to chat with Vasanth and almost got separated from my group. Venkath and a partner are in the bottled water delivery business (see his truck behind him). He gave me a card for his business, “Done Marketing” Packaged Drinking Water Supply, we chatted for a few moments, and we were both on our
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Strangers Nos. 5 and 6
Apu and Siva were on their way somewhere when they spotted about a dozen folks with cameras heading toward them, snapping photos in all directions as they moved. They asked several folks to snap their photo, and given that they were in a photographic mood, I approached them and asked to snap their portrait. They
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Stranger No. 4
This morning, I went for a walk in Chintadripet, a suburb in central Chennai, and met a smiling Mohammed, the proprietor at Chandrika Fast Foods, getting ready for the breakfast crowd. I asked him if I could take his photo exactly where he was sitting, as he looked very much at ease; we had a
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Stranger No. 3
Stranger number three spoke virtually no English, but he saw my camera and insisted on having his photo taken. Â We don’t know his name, but he lives in the semi-informal community along the canal in R.A. Puram, Chennai. Â With any luck, I’ll bring him a copy of his portrait and learn his name at that
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Stranger No. 2
Meet Apu, who wouldn’t say a word but took his lead from the younger Ashok (stranger #1). along with a third friend, he he was helping open shop at a roadside grill on Greenways Road in Chennai.