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Bombay Mix

Published in 2007 by Dewi Lewis Publishing and Sepia International, Bombay Mix is photographer Ketaki Sheth’s second photobook. It consists of black and white street photographs of her hometown Bombay (now Mumbai) taken between 1988 and 2004. The title is borrowed from the name of a popular savoury snack sold on the city’s streets.

Through the images in the book, Sheth attempts to capture the contrasts and ironies at work in the landscape of the city – how its burgeoning population and limited residential space transform the streets into spaces of “living”, throwing different cultures, classes and faiths in close contact with each other. The photographs feature a cross-section of the city’s residents, including children, daily wage labourers and businesspeople. The introduction to the book has been authored by writer Suketu Mehta.

An exhibition, also titled Bombay Mix and featuring 50 images from the book, was held at the Fête du Livre in Aix-en-Provence, France in 2008.

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