I was walking down an alley and passed a mother with a little girl in her arms

Just one turn off Mumbai’s main road, and the city transforms into a different world.

Gone are the luxury hotels and glittering storefronts—the side streets grow narrower, more cluttered. At first, small shops still line the path, but soon, residential homes dominate the scenery. The roads, once straight and orderly, begin to twist and turn, gradually becoming a maze of alleys.

Still, these streets must lead somewhere. If I keep walking, I will eventually find another main road, another passage back into the city's pulse. Believing this, I press forward.

Then, I pass a mother carrying her young daughter.

The little girl, tiny earrings dangling from her ears, notices my camera. Her dark, gleaming eyes meet mine, studying me curiously. And then—just for a moment—she smiles.

These alleyways may seem endless, tangled, uncertain, but for this mother and child, they are simply home. This too is Mumbai—not the polished, modern city, but the intimate, lived-in spaces where daily life unfolds.

I pause for a moment, taking in the quiet weight of this ordinary yet deeply human scene.

Then, I press the shutter.

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