Bombay Nights (2022-)

Bombay nights is a project about documenting the night life in my city. I would leave home after sunset and keep documenting this city till next day’s sunrise. The moment i step outside my home i would start documenting life with my camera. I have been documenting this city for 5 years now. I have always wondered how this city would feel during the night. Honestly it took me by surprise. This city doesn’t sleep. There’s always something going on in the corners of this city. So my first few Bombay Nights walks were about me adjusting to documenting this city after midnight. You can’t shoot the same way you shoot during the day. I had to change my approach. I had to know my boundaries.

I started my walk from Grand road station to explore the area such as Do taanki, Pydhoonie, M.ali road, crawford market & Then moved to ‘Sasson Dock’ at around 3am.

Tea is my beer for energy. It’s something that keeps me going during my night walks.

I had 6 cups of tea on my first Bombay Nights walk. I was told not to shoot many times. Some guy said, He would throw my camera in the water, One guy told me that cops will confiscate your camera. I was pushed very hard once & No idea why they all thought i was a vlogger. So my job was to tell them what i was doing with a big smile on my face,

Few moments from my first ‘Bombay Nights Walk’

It’s not easy to shoot past the midnight. You get asked a lot of questions. But there’s nothing to fear. You are not doing anything wrong. For my second Bombay Nights walk I decided to explore ‘Theif Market’ on early Friday morning. I reached there at 2am after walking for few hours in near by areas. Every Friday from around 3-4am, A night market opens, Where all branded (GUCCI becomes CUCCI), Stolen, Second hand goods, Clothes, Shoes, You name it and it’s available for sale over there. People from various parts of this city reach this place at around 1am and wait for the market to open.

It was very dark. I had to shoot with available light for some time. But i had a urge to use the flash & In the end i did it. And damn people started to giving me weird look, And telling me you can’t shoot here. Overall people very friendly. & It feels nice to do something by stepping outside my comfort zone.

Three Photographs from my Second ‘Bombay Nights’ walk.

For my 3rd Bombay Nights walk, I decided to walk ‘Western Express highway’ of 28km from Bandra railway station east to kashimira.

My friend Eben joined me for this walk. We finished 28kms within 8 and half hours. We started walking around at 9pm and reached kashimira by 5:23am next day. It was crazy, Unique, Calm, Wild, It’s hard to express my experience into words. The walks are more about enjoying. Many crazy things happened. A crazy drunk guy started to follow us for me taking a photo of someone standing beside him. I was worried for him and Eben wanted to punch him.

Photographs from my 3rd Bombay Nights walk.

For my 4th ‘Bombay Nights’ walk’ Brij, Vishwas, and Eben also joined me. We started our walk at around 4pm till 7am next day. It was very enjoyable walking this city at night with fellow photographers. We started from Mahim fair at 4pm and were there till 12am. Then we started walking towards Dadar flower market. We ended our walk there in the morning.

Few Photographs from my 4th Bombay Nights walk

For my Fifth ‘Bombay Nights’ walk, I had to leave my home at 9am in the morning to reach the starting point. It was some adventure to reach the starting point In Uran. Took a train, Ferry, Rickshaw & also walked a bit. I reached there by 2am to document the ‘Body Building Championship’. Then i had to wait till 6pm for it to start. Of course i was shooting all the time. I have many batteries. I really enjoyed it till 1am. Then i was screwed. That’s the story. I thought i would probably come across something in between 1am-4am. But it was dead quiet. So i decided to take a power nap. I found one sofa at that event in open. So i thought let this be my bed for three hours. But i couldn’t sleep due to cold and mosquitoes. So i put sofa cover on myself to stay warm. I think I’ll never forget these 3 hours.

Few photographs from this walk.

For my sixth ‘Bombay Nights’ walk, My friend Nicolas and Eben also joined me. There was only one rule for me during this walk. Shoot all the time. doesn’t matter where you are. We started with train journey in luggage compartment at around 6:30am, Got off at Grant Road Station and started walking towards the Churchgate station exploring diferent markets and areas in between. Then we took a last train from churchgate going towards Dadar at around 12:50am. We reched dadar in 20 minutes. And we documented Dadar flower market from around 1am to 6am. Then we walked towards the Shivaji Park to document the republic day parade.

Few Photographs from this walk.

For my 7th ‘Bombay Nights’ walk I decided to walk ‘Eastern Express Highway’ of 33kms from Byculla to Thane. As i started walking i came across one sandal procession, Since i was in shorts, I bought a lungi, So i could document their further events which was supposed to happen near a mosque. Honestly it took me by surprise. That’s what street offers. You just keep walking and you would come across many things.

After the procession, I continued walking, When i reached chembur, A guy came to me saying he wanted to make love with me. He started to follow me on his bike. He was even offering me 200rs. I can’t forget those experiences. 😛

I have also taken few ‘Bombay Nights Tours’. You can read the summaries and Testimonials here. If you want me to make a personalized night walk for you. Then please do get in touch with me by Mail or Whatsapp.