Stepping off Mumbai’s main avenue and into a narrow strip of pavement, I found a curious sight: men lined up and sitting in a row. They weren’t perched on chairs under shop awnings, but directly on the asphalt or on small stools they had brought themselves, idly passing the time. In India, the line between working, resting, or simply waiting often blurs, and one encounters such moments with surprising frequency. After all, sidewalks are supposed to be for walking, but here in Mumbai they are frequently half-occupied by food stalls and motorcycles, with whatever remains transformed into living space.
Among the group sat a man whose spectacles made him stand out. Through the lenses, his gaze cut toward me as though to demand, “What exactly are you photographing?” Of all the men, he alone looked at me with suspicion. The others showed complete indifference—one smoked and wandered, another crossed his legs and stared into the distance, while yet another simply leaned back and gazed blankly at the sky. They all bore the look of laborers, but whether they were waiting for their next job or merely enduring the sultry afternoon was impossible to tell.
On Indian sidewalks, rules exist more in theory than in practice. Officials rarely appear to clear away the chairs, sleepers, or loungers who colonize these public spaces. One could call it administrative neglect—but equally, it feels like a soft cushion of tolerance that absorbs daily life. For me, it was nothing more than an object of observation. But for the people of Mumbai, the sidewalk may be living room, office, and café all at once. As I raised my camera, the thunder of passing trucks swallowed the moment, but the cluttered rhythm of the city’s everyday life pulsed unmistakably in the background.
Aug 2025 INDIA PEOPLE | |
GLASSES MAN MUMBAI SIDEWALK |
No
12892
Shooting Date
May 2024
Posted On
August 24, 2025
Place
Mumbai, India
Genre
Street Photography
Camera
SONY ALPHA 7R V
Lens
ZEISS BATIS 2/40 CF