On the first Sunday of December, I went on a photowalk to Malleswaram in Bangalore with a group of software engineers that I had never met before. All of us were amateur photographers. This was my first time doing street photography in Bangalore since I moved to the city four years ago.

Before this, I had attended photowalks in New Delhi, NYC, San Francisco, Pune, Mumbai, Philly, etc. - big cities with very different energy. But this was the first time I was shooting in a group of more than three people, and also my first proper street photography session after almost five years.

Initially, I felt distracted and a bit overwhelmed. Moving in a group of photographers changes the dynamic. You’re often chasing the same subjects, and a group with cameras inevitably draws attention. People notice you more. But as we continued walking through the streets and gullys (alleys and lanes), I slowly settled in. I became more comfortable, started observing more, and managed to find a few unique and interesting compositions despite being in a group.

When we started, the air was cold and slightly foggy. Within an hour, the sun came out, giving way to a bright blue sky. Since I was shooting streets after a long gap, I found myself struggling to quickly adjust camera settings as the light changed. In hindsight, I should have spent some time during the week setting up quick presets. In street photography, speed is everything. You don’t want to lose a moment because you’re fiddling with shutter speed or aperture.

Malleswaram is a classic Bangalore neighborhood - planned layouts, wide roads, and big trees lining both sides of the streets. It’s a perfect playground for light and shadow. The streets were alive with everyday Indian scenes: street cats and dogs lounging in corners, people waiting at bus stops or outside shops, fruit-seller women arranging their produce, cows and the occasional Nandi bull ambling past traffic, and retired folks stepping out for their morning walk or a quick grocery run. There were so many interesting subjects - quiet, ordinary moments that are uniquely Indian and deeply street-photography friendly.

Malleswaram feels like a city within a city. Although laid out in a grid, every street has its own character. We started on a street dominated by 3 to 4-storey houses, with the occasional shop, bank, school, or park. From there, we moved into narrow lanes where houses were painted in soft pinks and sky blues. A little further in, we walked past streets lined with bungalows - some modest, some large and luxurious, most belonging to retired government officers and judges.

Almost every street corner had a fruit seller or a coconut water vendor. Then we hit what felt like a Sunday market: hawkers seated along the footpaths, selling everything from vegetables and bangles to sunglasses and fake gold jewellery. A few hundred metres down the road was the flower market. A street filled with temporary stalls displaying massive garlands meant for temples and weddings. The fragrance in the air and the explosion of colors were a delight for us shutterbugs.

We took a break at the famous CTR (Central Tiffin Room), well known for its crispy dosas. After relishing the buttery goodness, we began walking back toward our starting point, taking a different route. This path led us through quieter lanes, more houses, and finally past a large temple.

Throughout the walk, one thing stood out to me: the absence of Swiggy, Zomato, or Blinkit delivery riders. In most parts of Bangalore, delivery bikes and Yulus dominate the streets. Here, they were almost nonexistent. Malleswaram felt noticeably less cosmopolitan, almost everyone we saw was a local Kannadiga. We didn’t come across any of the usual big-brand restaurants or retail chains like McDonald’s, breweries, or Zudio that are common elsewhere in the city.

It was a side of Bangalore that many of us, especially those living in IT-hub areas like Indiranagar, HSR, Koramangala, or Whitefield rarely get to see.

This photowalk reminded me why I fell in love with street photography in the first place. It’s not just about images, but about slowing down, observing, and discovering layers of a city that often go unnoticed. Malleswaram didn’t feel like Bangalore as I usually experience it. And that’s what made it special. I returned home with a tired body, a full stomach, a memory card of photographs, and a renewed desire to walk more, observe more, and let the streets tell their stories.

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