10 Cities, 8 Hours

Ten diverse photographers capture life in 10 Indian cities during work hours as part of the India 9 to 5 project; special supplement of photos to be published on Friday

It's 2 am and two flat mates are still awake in Bangalore. The boys from Sikkim returned from a night shift at the call centre only a few hours ago. Further up, in Ahmedabad, a family tediously fries mutton
samosas.
u00a0
In the east, a bookseller displays old hardbacks, on Kolkata's College Street. These are some of the photographs that are part of the India 9 to 5 project.

"We were looking for something special to commemorate our 30th anniversary," said Tariq Ansari, managing director, MiD DAY Infomedia Ltd, who came up with the idea of capturing life in urban India between the 9 to 5 working hours.
u00a0
"Since MiD DAY primarily serves the information and entertainment needs of young urban professionals in the middle of the day, a visual history of our cities during work hours made a lot of sense," he added.

The cities covered by the photographers include Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
u00a0
The concept was brought to life with Abhishek Poddar, founder of Tasveer, the photographers' gallery. It took 10 lensmen, 10 cities, 10 photographs for each, and a little over two months before India 9 to 5 was ready.
u00a0
"We didn't want the usual shots of traffic or basic portraits. Hence, we zeroed in on 10 diverse photographers," explained Poddar.
u00a0
Photographers

While Fauzan Husain focused on the new 'Nizams' of Hyderabad who dig into a biryani with as much enthusiasm as they'd shake a leg at a salsa class, Sohrab Hura captured the similarity viau00a0 contradiction in Delhi.

It wasn't easy. "How do you capture a city in 10 photographs?" asked Hura. Prashant Panjiar chose people from different states who lead busy lives in Bangalore and made it a 'per hour' exercise.

"For example, at 10 am, a girl from Shillong is weaving through traffic to work. An hour later, a Rajasthani boy is working at Infosys.

A swamiji, a pucca Bangalorean, is busy giving discourses at noon. At 5 pm, a band performs at Planet M," he elaborated.
u00a0
Though the project has been put together by Tasveer, Design Temple has worked on the presentation.

Divya Thakur, creative director, said, "There are several stereotypes associated with India. It's either poverty or royalty.
u00a0
This project offers a glimpse into what happens in different parts of India." She added, "I walk to office from my home in Colaba, which is full of people selling goods. That's what India is about.

There are many things happening at once." Thakur claims this is the first 'visual' showcase of the mood of young urban India.

Readers can get their first glimpse of the photographs in a special supplement on Friday. "The supplement is a taste of things to come.

We will also hold an exhibition of the photographs in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune over the next four months.

A coffee table book with all the images is also in the works, as is a special microsite on www.mid-day.com, which launches on Friday," added Ansari.