My job as a photographer is not just to portray the person but also to evoke the world they embody. In the back roads of Western India, I met many people who welcomed a stranger, introduced me to their customs, showed me their homes, introduced me to their relatives, and shared a cup of chai. It is this world that is written on their faces in a language that requires more of an empathetic translation than a linguistic one.

In this photograph, all of the above happened and more. I came upon a brick making operation. I watched the workers cutting into the earth and making bricks that weighed 40 kilograms. The subject of this photo’s job, along with three co-workers, was to pick up the bricks and load them onto a truck. After I had photographed them all, they invited me to walk over to their ever-moving village of transportable huts and meet their families and drink some tea.  And afterwards, they were thrilled that I accepted their invitation to work the brick-cutting machine and cut a row of bricks – right out of the earth!

I work seven days a week at my craft, day and night. I can’t read, view, shoot or print enough. And I watch my vision evolve- seeing more and more clearly the picture that’s waiting to be taken. I also like the technical aspects of photography and enjoy holding a beautiful print that I just printed in my hands. And I love sharing my work and my social values with larger and larger audiences. I have found the perfect way to express who I am- aesthetically and spiritually. In a few short years I have grown more than I could have imagined. I have forged my own vision and its interplay with my values.