I am a self-styled amateur street photographer based in Dubai, calling the UAE my adopted home since 1976. My interest in photography took a serious turn in 2009 when I started a self-commissioned project to photograph the old harbour area in Deira Dubai; a fourteen kilo-meter water way that was once the main economic artery of the city and recently became an UNESCO World Heritage site hopeful. This led to the publication of a book titled Dubai Creek depicting the everyday life of dockworkers and traders who's livelihood depend on the ancient dhows. My next project titled Sand Lords featured the practice of Kushti; an ancient martial art of the Orient that is popular among the large labor force from the Indian sub-continent. I followed a band of men for over a year who meet every Friday afternoon in a sandy open field to flex their muscle to relax and enjoy the company of their compatriots and entertain a large audience under the golden afternoon Sun. A collection of images from this series appeared in the second issue of the Indian Quarterly magazine and was featured in a Middle East photography ensemble at Chobi Mela, held in Dhaka in early 2013. This series has also won a place in the soon-to-be published book titled The Other Hundred.

I am an avid street photographer who rarely misses an opportunity to make a portrait of a total stranger.