Every stone on Mumbai’s streets can tell a story, every person can offer a new perspective, every street has a legend. From the dabbawallahs to the taxi drivers and your neighbourhood grocer, every person has a quirk that makes him the quintessential Mumbaikar. “There have been several books written on Mumbai, but it is never enough,” says veteran photographer David de Souza who will soon be publishing his first monograph about Mumbai, titled, Itinerants: Mumbai’s Nomads.

Reams of newsprint have been used writing about this sporadic city, but David is quick to defend himself. “To start with, this one’s a visually rich book with around 80 colour images, and is a collaboration with my wife, Charmayne, who is a poet. The text is in the form of free verse and in that sense there are two books joined together with graphic links,” he states.

The book has been in the making for 12 years, after the idea first came to their doorstep years ago. “Most of the itinerants happened to walk by our apartment in Churchgate,” says David who heard their calls, drums, musical instruments and ghungroos and ran to the balcony to see who was attached to those interesting sounds. “Invariably, they would be attached to colourful characters that made for interesting photographs, for the sheer drama and theatricality they represented.” What started out as simple snapshots with his large format camera gradually evolved into a project worthy of a book.

It took him five years to complete his shoot and during the course Charmayne penned down her verses. She got in touch with the other India that danced, lived, moved and died on the street below her home, she clarifies: “May be these people would then move to Haridwar, Pandharpur and the Himalayas on their seasonal migrant routes, leaving us only with this book, but their presence captured forever in amber is what gives me the greatest joy.”

While most photographers would prefer shooting pictures of the itinerants on the streets, along with their natural surroundings, but, known for his abstract photography, David thought otherwise. He opted for a studio shoot instead with a neutral white, grey or black background. David cites his reason, “If they were separated from the environment, the photos would be revealing of who the people are rather than about what they do.”