In January 2025, I returned to India to continue my documentary photography work on the country’s seaside towns. After exploring the eastern coast and the beaches of Tamil Nadu, this time my journey took me to the western coast, following a route from Kochi to Murdeshwar, including the shores of Kozhikode, Mangalore, Udupi, and Cherai.

While Indian beaches are often associated with international tourist hotspots, the ones I photographed remain primarily local spaces, frequented by India’s middle class. In Kozhikode, the seafront comes alive with the daily rhythms of its residents, revealing vibrant scenes of everyday life—captured through an approach that blends street photography and documentary observation. Elsewhere, the crowds gather mostly at weekends, when families, pilgrims, and groups of friends from Karnataka and neighbouring states fill the coastline.

For four weeks, I roamed these beaches, favouring late afternoons and early evenings—those moments when the crowds thicken, and the light sculpts silhouettes against the landscape. However, photographing India’s western coast presents a particular challenge: the constant backlight from the powerful sun, which forces a reconsideration of one’s visual approach and a creative use of contrast.

Compared to the beaches of Tamil Nadu, I sensed a calmer atmosphere, less marked by bustling activity. Fewer street vendors, fewer attractions or seaside entertainment—except in Kozhikode. This quietness pushed me to adjust my photographic approach. Accustomed to capturing density and movement through dynamic compositions, I had to rethink my visual storytelling: wider shots, minimalist framing, and longer observations of my subjects. Fewer spontaneous moments, more posed portraits, where interaction with the people I photographed became an integral part of my documentary process.

This experience offered me a new perspective on Indian beaches. What initially seemed like a limitation—the lower density of visual events—turned into an opportunity to explore a more contemplative style of photography. These images will enrich my project by adding a fresh nuance, where quietness and stillness convey as much as the energy of a bustling crowd. In hindsight, they may offer a different interpretation of contemporary Indian beach life—somewhere between immersion and distance, movement and silence.

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