Steidlville

Inspired by contemporary Indian authors, Betsy Karel went to Bombay to find visual equivalents of the humanity, humor, mystery and psychological energy of these writers’ stories. Unlike many photographers who are drawn to the cacophony of urban India, she focused, often in an intensely personal way, on individuals going about their everyday street lives in this singular city. Patiently waiting amidst the bustle of Bombay, home to more people than the entire continent of Australia, she captures a poignant lyricism in the familiar. As individuals transform public spaces into private places, forging islands of intimacy, she encounters the true “jadoo” (Hindi for magic) of Bombay and its people. To accompany the photographs, the globally acclaimed author Suketu Mehta has written a companion piece about his boyhood in Bombay and there is a chapter excerpted from Ardashir Vakil's remarkable first novel, Beach Boy.