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.

Istriwala or Istrivala

Whether you want to call him your next door istrivala (istriwala) or a manual laundromat, these are a typical sight in every corner of India. These guys have a home delivery service, picking up and dropping off your clothes but their expertise is questionable and there are no guarantees that your clothes will return in the shape you gave them. Ironing clothes for ₹ 3/- to ₹ 5/- each. Some have irons operating on coal like the one in the pictures and others could do the work in tiny hovels with electricity. There is also the issue of hygiene. At times the clothes can return with bed bugs or other insects and also stains which never come off.

However more often than not your clothes return just fine, specially if you have a reliable istrivala. So choose well!

You might also like: Knife Sharpener from India or 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

Plucking coconuts

They climb trees faster than you can blink and bring down a volley of coconuts, with nothing but a sickle in their hands and some rope tied to their feet.

Here is a man smiling at the bottom of the coconut tree. Some of the coconuts with their thick green covering are lying on the ground. He has already plucked them from other trees. Quite a good catch!

The man is almost there, heading straight towards the bunch of coconuts.

Here is the man in the thick of the coconut tree's branches and cutting the coconuts from the tree.

The wiry and muscled man is sprinting down the tree as easily as we would walk. He is using a rope which binds his legs together and gives him support as he slides down smoothly.

Related Photos: Coconut water vendor in India or Sugarcane juice vendors or Toddy or Kallu, a palm alcoholic drink or Palm Plantations of Malaysia

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Road being surfaced with tar

These are photographs of roads being tarred with the common material used for it - Asphalt. Also called bitumen, tar is a sticky, black and viscous substance, a derivative of petroleum. This material is used in road construction where its stickiness binds together various other substances to create a hard mixture used for surfacing roads.

Here the workers are spreading the loose tar on the road and the supervisor is shouting instructions.

A worker spreading the loose gravely bits of tar so that it evenly coats the road.

A road roller flatting and pressing down the tar to create a hard, smooth surface.

You might also like to see images of Road Construction in India (concrete roads) or Buildings under construction or Earth Movers
Images of workers at construction sites: Working without protective gear or  Workers taking a break or
Women construction workers in India
Other related images: Images of empty or unused pipes or Laying underground pipes


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Workers taking a break

These are photographs of unskilled workers taking a break from work.

A worker resting on a parked car.

A couple of workers at a construction site washing up.

Construction workers going home after a hard day's work.

Rag-pickers done for the day.

You might also like Man sleeping on tractor
Or see all the photographs filed under Unskilled Labour or Skilled Labour.
Or check out images of poverty from India:  Old Women Destitutes and Beggars or Homeless in India - Photographs  or Disabled Beggars  or  Child Beggars  or Old and elderly women in India  or Destitutes and beggars - portraits of old men or Drunk and drugged people lying on the roads
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Cycle carts with three wheels

Cycle carts to carry goods are used frequently in towns and cities of India. These three-wheeled carts have a cycle attached which makes it easy to maintain and inexpensive to run. They have a small load carrying capacity. However these vehicles are used in fairly innovative ways as the first picture demonstrates.


This man is smoking a bidi as he rides his cycle cart on a cold morning near Jaipur, in Rajasthan. Believe it or not this small cyclecart is carrying long flexible pipes which are potruding for several feet, if not meters, outside his vehicle. This would be considered a dangerous vehicle on the roads of any developed country but for India, this is common. The traffic police would not bother to penalize this driver who is trying to earn a living.

This is a smaller cycle cart which is being used to a large wicker basket full of vegetables. Some vegetable vendors carry this on their heads and a lucky few have a vehicle to cart it around in. This photograph was shot in Kolkata.

This man is carrying a sheet or sheets of metal on his cycle cart. A photograph from Kolkata.

Another image shot in Kolkata, of a cycle-cart driver fixing a wheel.

Related Images: Camel cart and Bullock cart or Wooden hand carts with four wheels - Photos and Sketches 

or Cycle Rickshaws in India or Hand-Pulled Rickshaws or try the label "Transport" for pictures of a variety of vehicles.

Woman Gardener in India

These are photographs of a woman gardener working on a flower bed near Nasik in Maharashtra, India. In her hand she has a curved iron scythe to dig up the flower bed.

Here is the same woman, busy loosening up the mud in the flower bed so that the plants gets enough oxygen to its roots.

Security guards in India

These are photographs of security guards in India. There has been a huge increase in security guards in the last decade or so, mostly due to fear of terrorism. Mostly these guards are untrained, and unable to spot trouble-makers. They are hopeless at finding dangerous weapons as numerous checks have shown. These guards are better at finding food items (as wanted by multiplex owners) than guns! It's amazing how they scrounge around with their dirty fingers in the tiniest of pockets looking for that single piece of candy or biscuit!

This picture shows a security guard employed by MacDonalds near the exit of a Drivethru. He is standing casually at the exit.

This is a security guard of a small building. He looks relaxed, and he is! He doesn't ask you where you are going, and where you are coming from! Such guards are common in most housing societies and are untrained.

These security guards at a high-end mall note down car numbers. They are "trained" by the private security agencies which recruit them, but not sure how well they are trained. Or what exactly they are supposed to do except regulate the traffic at the parking lot.

These guards at another mall make a perfunctory check of the dickey of the car. They won't be able to find a bomb or gun to save their life!

Cinema theatres also use the guards to prevent people from taking in throat lozenges, candy or even medicines! However tiny the food item is, and however necessary for your health, it's not allowed. They also force you to feed unhygienic food from the cinema counters (made without gloves and with flies on it) even to your toddlers! They also prefer it if you cough and disturb others rather than allow you to take your throat tablets inside.

Man sleeping on tractor

This is an image of a wiry young man, probably the driver of a tractor, sleeping in an odd position on the tractor or a similar vehicle. It is hard to imagine anyone taking a nap this way as only the upper half and lower half of his body are resting on a hard surface. Half his torso is hanging in mid-air and he doesn't seem to be the worse for it. He was fast asleep when this photograph was clicked.

Another photograph of a sleeping man - a labourer taking a break from work. He is sleeping on some type of packed material lying on top of some old tyres. It is so typical India. People working long hours, and not getting enough sleep at home! Or perhaps he is simply taking his siesta!

You might also like: Workers taking a break
Or check out images of poverty from India:  Old Women Destitutes and Beggars or Homeless in India - Photographs  or Disabled Beggars  or  Child Beggars  or Old and elderly women in India  or Destitutes and beggars - portraits of old men or Drunk and drugged people lying on the roads

Drive Thru at Macdonalds in India

Here are some photographs of the Drive Thru at Macdonald's in India.
This is a Macdonald's employee serving us coffee. In the background you can see the restaurant and some other employees waiting behind the counter.

A MacDonald's server serving us coffee and sugar. He is wearing the standard blue uniform and blue cap.

This is a Macdonald's employee handing us a coke through the drive-thru window.

Women construction workers in India

Women construction workers in India work as hard as the men in rough conditions.

In this image you can see the construction workers taking a break from work. Construction and building material is lying around them.

Here is a tribal woman watering the cement during the concretisation of a road in Pune. Other women workers can be seen in the background.

Here is a picture of a young woman carrying a heap of stones to a construction site. A woman helped her heave up the heavy load on to a metal basket on her head.

These women were shot in a small town called Vikramgad with a population of about 4000 people. These are tribal women carrying construction material.

The same construction site with both men and women workers. The women work in harsh conditions, like the men. The temperatures are high, the work hard, and there is little rest.

If you are looking for more images of Indian women workers then try these posts: Urban women workers carrying loads on their heads or Rural women carrying water and firewood or Women filling water from village well in India

For pictures of village and tribal women try these posts: Tribal women in India or Village women in Gwalior District, India

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Shoeshine men in India

These are pictures of men shining shoes in Mumbai, India.

The first few pictures were shot at Mumbai Central station. In the first one you can see a shoe-shine man in the foreground on the platform of a railway station. A few commuters are sitting on benches in the background. Next to the shoe-shine you can see the tools of his trade, displayed for all to see. Different types and colors of shoe polish and brushes. Also insoles for customers who need them. The shoe-shine men have an uniform - a blue shirt and black pants.

In this pic you can see the shoe-shine at work on the platform. In the background is the railway station.

This picture shows you commuters waiting for the train in the background. In the foreground is a shoe-shine with his wares. A man is blocking the view of the row of shoe-shine men on the platform. It is Mumbai Central station.

This photo is of a shoe-shine boy on a pavement in South Mumbai. A large brush and shoe polish in tins can be seen by his side.

Domestic worker or maid in India

The first two pictures are of a female maid sweeping an apartment in India and the third one is of a woman cleaning utensils. They are both wearing saris, a dress commonly worn by women in Western and Southern India. Domestic workers are commonly referred to as "servants" or "naukar"and the workers resent this.

In the photo below you will a see a woman cleaning utensils. This picture was stolen by a major regional newspaper in their print edition and when I confronted the newspaper they paid up. I asked for Rs 1500/- for using this picture illegally, and after receiving it gave half of the money to the woman in the picture. And no, she does not work for me and never has.

Sweepers in India

Here are some photos of people sweeping public spaces. Two of the pictures were shot outside food court on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. One of the pictures is taken on Marine Drive in Mumbai. That is the first pic. The men usually wear bright coloured orange reflective jackets as they work on a busy road where vehicles move at a high speed.

The picture below is a high resolution picture of a man in a reflective jacket sweeping the roads of Mumbai. He is a municipal worker.

The third photograph is a favourite, of a saree-clad lady. I liked it particularly because of the angle. The shadow of the broom and the semi-circular marks on the concrete road by the sweeping made it an interesting shot. The plainness of the concrete contrasts well with the neat, colourful hedge. She is working at a food court on the highway and is a private worker.

This is a photograph of a man sweeping a road outside a food court. He is wearing an uniform.

This is another photograph of a sweeper wearing an uniform. The picture was taken in the compound of Taj Hotel in Aurangabad.

More images of Unskilled Labor.