About Humans of kashmir in Rajbagh, Srinagar

It has been a long journey working as a news photographer in Kashmir since 1990, after two decades covering conflict, looking at death & pain so closely, I also got completely desensitized, it needed an effort to feel the pain or happiness. I still remember my initial news assignments when I was supposed to shoot dead human beings, who were killed in a gun fight. I felt completely chocked & could not shoot properly for many days, it was then, I decided to hide behind my camera and took everything in front of my lens as my subject. It made me feel like, I have just become a photo clicking machine.

Finally, saturation, situation & decrease in passion changed my mood & I moved out to Delhi joined a business news paper there for a change & for better returns, it was a different experience to shoot food/fashion/portraits etc,challenging too, I did well, I was soon promoted as national photo editor. Life was super busy again, but after a year due to some family compulsions I had to leave Delhi and return back.

I had my camera kit, a hatchback and an experience of telling stories through images, I wanted to do something apart from a regular newspaper job now,something of my own, independently, I tried to complete my pending project, the photo-book about first hand accounts as a news photographer in Kashmir but could not hold the focus, it is still pending, but I know I will complete it one day

Meanwhile, recently a v close friend send me a link to humansofnewyork and I instantly felt this is what I want /should do.

I started looking for stories,stories of common people, did some random shoots/stories, asked/shot people on the streets of Srinagar, it was tough though, as people here in this small city are either camera shy or reluctant to share their stories for various reasons, using my previous experience, I managed to get these few stories to go as first batch, hope this first batch of stories takes your curiosity one level up to look for more from humansofkashmir.

The goal is to go inside the circles now, so far I have been covering them from news angle, like when there would be an explosion, I would shoot people carrying bodies or wailing women or youth pelting stones or houses gutted to ground, funerals, ranting, politics etc .

Now to speak to people on other levels, emotional levels, just beyond politics, just about their personal lives, about those speacial things they have never been asked by anyone to share or they have shared it to their close ones only.

Every one has a story to tell, approaching them in a certain way, to make them speak out their hearts is the real art, a real challenge and I’m loving to connect to them on those levels, hope you would like it too.


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