My skin is kind of sort of brownish
Pinkish yellowish white.
My eyes are greyish blueish green,
But I’m told they look orange in the night.
My hair is reddish blondish brown,
But it’s silver when it’s wet.
And all the colours I am inside
Have not been invented yet.

-Shel Silverstein

Early one Friday morning, we decided to brave the hectic and entirely unclean Crawford Market in Bombay. While the filth, the chaos, the hay and the litter, the sleeping dogs, shouting men, the sweaty basket carriers, the rituals of bathing and brushing, the rotting fruit, yesterday’s newspaper strewn all around, the stench from the butchers, the piles of rubbish could be overwhelming for many, I decided to concentrate on the colours and the fervour of men old and young trying to earn a living. And through the lens of an expert photographer found these beautiful, vibrant frames. Like Confucius said, everything has beauty, but not everyone can see it. Through these pictures, I hope you do.

These vibrant pictures were shot between 7 AM and 8 AM on a hungover Friday morning. The were expertly shot by Prateek Singhi, who apart from being an excellent photographer is a dear friend and a wonderful human being. Thank you for dragging me out of bed, into a train and onto the floors of Crawford Market. If you love these pictures and want Prateek to shoot for you, get in touch with him singhi.prateek@gmail.com and visit his Facebook page here.