March 2-14, 2024 (optional extension available in Mumbai)
13 Days or 17 Days

(only 2 spots left!)

This unique photography tour focuses on the vanishing cultures, lifestyles, and ancestral traditions of the tribal communities in the rural heartland of Gujarat.

The Jewel of Western India – Gujarat is a land of diverse topography, vibrant culture, multifarious cuisines, and a successful steady-state economy. This historically significant Western state of India is famous for its education, tourism, tradition, and people.

Along with local people, Gujarat also houses various tribal communities along the length and breadth of the state. It is home to over five million tribal communities who reside by the slopes of the Aravalli’s, Vindhya’s western flank of Satpura, and northern flanks of Sahyadri, encompassing parts of Vadodara, Surat, Sabarkantha, Broch, Banaskantha and Panchmahals. The major tribes of the region are the Jats, Megh Siddhi, Rabari, Bhils, Ahirs, and Bharwads. Every sect has distinct origins, habits, habitats, and cultural ethos.

There is a popular saying in India… “India lives in its Villages.” To fully experience traditional village life in India, a photographic journey to the western state of Gujarat showcases the traditional lifestyle which has remained unchanged for centuries. Farmers, artisans, and skilled craftsmen belonging to the tribal communities continue to practice age-old traditions and occupations. Photographing tribes who have maintained a strong cultural identity in the Kutch region of Gujarat will be the highlight of this journey.

The Streets of Mumbai 3-day Extension.

After Gujarat, instead of flying out of Mumbai, we’ve made available a wonderful 3-day extension in this very dramatic city. Mumbai, formerly Bombay, is the largest city in India, followed by Delhi and Kolkata. It’s full of dreamers and laborers, starlets and gangsters, Bollywood wannabes and the poorest of slums, stray dogs and exotic birds, artists and servants, fishermen and millionaires, and lots and lots of people. Mumbai is India’s financial powerhouse, fashion epicenter, and a pulse point of religious tension.

In the three days, we’ll focus on the Dharavi Slum, made famous by the movies “Slum Dog Millionaire” and “Gully Boy.” Dharavi is a working slum with its own schools, police, industry, and infrastructure. It is one of the world’s largest slums, occupying an area of just under one square mile, with a population of about 700,000.

The Dhobi Ghat is the world’s largest open-air laundromat. It was built 140 years ago, and 3000 people live and work there, but every day it swells to about 7000 workers. They flog, scrub, dye, and bleach clothes (all by hand) on concrete wash pens, dry them on ropes, neatly press them, and transport them to different parts of the city.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Mumbai’s main railway station). Imposing, exuberant, and overflowing with people, this monumental train station is the city’s busiest. We’ll photograph riders passing through on their trains. On the outside, we’ll find the most extravagant Gothic building and an aphorism of colonial-era India.

And lastly, the Dadar Flower Market, with its bustling and extremely colorful wholesale market catering to wedding planners and flower shops.

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Our other trips to India include Rajasthan, Varanasi,the Holi Festival of Colors, Soul of the Streets, Kerala, and the Theyham Festival. Many of our trips dovetail into each other so they can be combined. All trips we offer are available as private. 

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