This is Home: Life in Far East India

Concept

How ‘home’ is redefined by both routine and rupture, Small acts of joy and solidarity despite disruptions, Silences and pauses — moments when everyday life stands still due to unrest, Portraits of protest, adaptation, and hope.
Subtle traces of ethnic divide, migration, and collective memory.

Life is different here in the far East India than rest of the country, after I moved here in 2023 I started slowly exploring and understanding the place, and it's socio-cultural and political fabric. This photo essay captures daily life in Manipur’s neighborhoods, markets, and common spaces, juxtaposed with signs of the state’s persistent socio-political tensions. It focuses on the ordinary resilience of people — tea sellers, schoolchildren, street vendors, elders — living amidst curfews, protests, and fractured landscapes. By presenting scenes of home life, ritual, commerce, and community, the essay reveals the rich normalcy and subtle defiance that persist even under a climate of uncertainty.

“This is Home” seeks to go beyond images of conflict to highlight the stubborn normalcy and quiet beauty of Manipur’s people.
It leverages the street as a stage of both vulnerability and resistance, inviting audiences to contemplate what ‘home’ means under protracted uncertainty.