People from Kerala

These are photographs of ordinary and poor people from the state of Kerala. 

Two women, one young and one old, trudging through the jungle. 

Two workers fixing a shamiana or canopy for a function in a hotel.

An old man in a short lungi walking on a road in the jungle

Two Ayappa devotees taking photographs from a cell phone. 

Related Images: Old Rural Indian Men portraits and expressions or Elderly Indian men in ethnic clothes or A village in Maharashtra or Old and elderly women in India or Old men in India
or Ayyappa devotees in Madurai or Tea Gardens in Kerala or Rubber Plantations in Kerala
Or check out any of the labels below this post for hundreds of more photos on the topic you like.

Plucking tea in a tea garden in India

Women in the north-east of India plucking tea in a tea garden.

A long shot of the picturesque tea garden with tall trees to give shade to the tree bushes.

You might also like Tea Gardens in Kerala
Or Rubber Plantations in Kerala or Palm Plantations of Malaysia or Man and Bullock cultivating field  or Sugarcane fields or Rice fields near Chennai

Washing clothes by hand

These are pictures of people washing clothes manually in Rural India. This first one is of a woman in an orange sari scrubbing clothes with her hand, lathering the clothes, as she sits on her haunches near pots of water drawn from a well. All these people in rural India use natural sources of water to wash clothes, like wells and rivers.

Women bending over buckets of clothes soaked in soapy water next to a well.

An old man scrubbing clothes with a detergent bar next to a river.

A long shot of the same man sitting hunched on the river side washing clothes by hand.

You might also like Clothes Lines or Dhobi Ghat in Pune or Istriwala or Istrivala or try other photographs of different aspects of life in Rural India.
More images of women manually washing clothes: Women filling water from village well in India

Sari drying on a village wall in India

Images of a saree being hung out to dry. Most Indians, even if they use washing machines, do not use dryers. And their clothes are not small and thus drying them around small houses can become a problem. Saris are simply hung out to dry anywhere, at times even on the grass.

You might also like Clothes Lines or Dhobi Ghat in Pune or Istriwala or Istrivala or try other photographs of different aspects of life in Rural India.
Images of women manually washing clothes: Women filling water from village well in India

Goatherd in India

A Goatherd with his goats in a rural part of India

You might also like Cowherds in Rural India Or Yaks in Ladakh or Elephants on the streets of India
Camel cart and Bullock cart or try the label "Animals" for pictures of wild as well as pets.

Farming in Gujarat India

Here are photos of farms in Gujarat. The farmers are quite prosperous.

A sugarcane farm in Gujarat. The sugarcane growing can be seen in the background, and the foreground is a cultivated field.

A tractor cultivating a field on a farm in Gujarat

Hay stacks on a farm in Gujarat.

You might also like to see images of other sight seeing spots in Gujarat like Naida caves in Diu Gujarat or
Somnath Temple photographs or Chagda in Gujarat or Gir Forest photos
Man and Bullock cultivating field or check out Large images of open fields for headers or more pictures of  Rural India.

Covered Hindu women

Traditional Hindu women in a few states in North India cover their faces with their sari pallav. This is unheard of in South or East of India. It is believed that this is due to the Mughal influence.

A closeup of women in red saris with their heads covered.

Gujarati women with heads covered.

Gujarati tribals at the Somnath temple.

Masked girls and women of Pune or Women in burkhas or burqas - photos or Women in Burkhas - Silhouettes or Silhouette profile of an Indian beauty or Tribal women in India or check out the scores of photographs of Indian Women on this blog.

Tea Gardens in Kerala

These are picturesque scenes of the tea gardens in Kerala, India. These photos of tea plantations were shot while moving in a car.

A row of pretty houses, a temple and a dirt road in the backdrop of lush tea gardens.

A closer shot of the tea bushes.

Tea being grown on the hills of Kerala.

A photo of a tea estate plantation in Kerala.

Related Images: Rubber Plantations in Kerala
You might also like Palm Plantations of Malaysia or Man and Bullock cultivating field  or Sugarcane fields or Rice fields near Chennai

Old men in India

A group of old men in rural India relaxing on a concrete bench. Their sticks lie next to them.

A large group of old and elderly men in a village gathered for a chat.

The Old Man in the doorway. 

An old man with white sparse hair outside his house.

Related Images: Old Rural Indian Men portraits and expressions or Elderly Indian men in ethnic clothes
or A village in Maharashtra Old and elderly women in India
More images: Old men reading newspapers in India or Pilgrims singing and playing the Manjira musical instrument or Destitutes and beggars - portraits of old men or check out all the photos displayed under the label Men.

Indian Couples

Traditional Indian couples stay married forever, relatively speaking. Separation happens, but divorce is rare.

Rural couples plod on. And it's not about conversation so much as doing things together. It is common to see the woman to walk a few steps behind her husband but that does not make her a stay at home housewife. In rural India, the woman often works shoulder to shoulder with her man on the farm.

These are photographs of elderly couples.

This is a couple from Maharashtra, India.

A couple from North India.

An old couple. The old man in white and the woman in a green sari.

Another photograph of the same couple. This time the man's face is to the camera.

A village couple trying to hail a rickshaw.

An elderly Muslim couple from India.

Related pictures: Elderly Indian men in ethnic clothes or Tribal women in India  or for more pictures of Indian rural people, click: Rural People
You might also like A village in Maharashtra or Huts in an Indian village or Photos of thatched huts from the Chennai area or Serene scenes from the life of rural India

Religious homes in India

India is one of the most religious countries in the world, with the highest number of believers. This is reflected best in the homes of middle class Indians who outnumber the upper classes, and also the poor (the poor or those under the poverty line consist of approximately 22-25% of the population). Almost every room has a diety in the house of a middle class India.

The pooja room is however mostly near the kitchen. If the household is affluent he could build a separate pooja room, but for most middle class Indians, the different deities are placed in one corner in the kitchen.

However, there are photographs or figures of deities in almost every room. Here is a photograph with the idols kept neatly on a shelf near the ceiling in the living room.

Here is a picture of the goddess Laxmi giving her blessings to Shivaji Maharaj, an ancient king. This photograph was present in a common room of the house.

And as if pictures of deities are not enough, Indians invariably worship their past leaders. Here in this photograph you can see photographs of Swami Vivekananda (who was a guru and a propagator of Hinduism) and Jawaharlal Nehru (ex-Prime Minister) next to the photographs of deities.

You might also like: Middle class kitchens of rural India or A village in Maharashtra or Huts in an Indian village or Photos of thatched huts from the Chennai area or Photographs of houses and huts from Dakshinachitra in South India (which has a picture of a model thatched hut) or Interiors of rural homes in India
Or if you want to pictures of rural people, click: Rural People
Related viewing: Sketches of traditional Indian houses

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Old Rural Indian Men portraits and expressions

Older people's faces tell us a lot because as they age their expressions get set into their features and you can tell a lot about the personality just from seeing that set expression. You can see this evident in the differing expression of these elderly men.

A slightly impatient look to this man. Impatient but tolerant or stoic. The eyes tell us that he has suffered in his life. This while cap is typical of Maharashtrian rural men or farmers in Maharashtra.

A man without much expression on his face. You can tell that he is reserved.

This man smiles easily and does not seem conscious of the camera. You can see his wizened and lined face, years of hard physical labour etched on his face. But he is a happy man despite the hardship.

A slightly disheveled old man. His expressions is fairly unconcerned, relaxed, not paying attention. As if he is thinking of something else. He seems to be a person who has distanced himself from life a little for reasons unknown.

A happy and smiling old man who has seen much happiness. Contentment and fulfillment is written on this face.

You might also like to see sketches of different expressions: Expressions of irritation, annoyance and anger
Or, if you are looking for more portraits you can check out: Destitutes and beggars - portraits of old men
Or try all the posts filed under people for interesting photographs of people.
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Children playing in the river water in rural India

Trying to escape from the summer heat, these kids are frolicking in the river on a hot sunny day. A man is also bathing in the river. In the villages the river is used for washing clothes and at times utensils, bathing as well as for swimming.

Kids enjoying themselves playing in this shallow river adjoining a small village.

Another photograph of children playing in the river water.

(Higher resolution photos of the above are available).

You might also like Street kids playing cricket or Children playing Holi in semi-rural India or A minute in the life of a street kid

More Images of children playing, working and studying: Children playing without toys or Child Labour or Working children or Photographs of children studying outdoors or Child Beggars

Or try the label "Children" for all pictures of kids on this website.

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Knife Sharpener from India

Here is how a poor man is making his living - sharpening knives and other objects. He lives and works in the same area. The first pictures speaks a thousand words about his lifestyle. The wood stoves, the small bed and the hanging blanket. Pots and pans lying around.

The knife sharpening tool or machine he is using is rarely seen in the modern world. It's an old machine.

The knife sharperner is checking to see whether the sickle is sharpened enough.

Sparks flying off the sickle he is sharpening.

You might also like: Indian Cobblers or Artisans in India or Glass making - photos of a glass maker at work or Indian Artisans making small statues or Masons at Work

There are also a lot of photographs of other occupations ranging from weaving, tailoring to painting and you can check out the label Occupations  or Skilled Labour

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