A journey with the Siddis of India
My interest in maritime history began in 2017, when I was invited by artist and curator Riyas Komu to be a resident artist at URU Art Harbour during the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Immersed in the layered cultural landscape of Kochi—a city shaped by centuries of trade, migration, and coexistence.
I initiated what would become the Aazhi Archive: a long-term exploration into Kerala’s oceanic identity and coastal memory
The project led me to research and document the lives of over 40 communities living within a 5-kilometer radius of Fort Kochi, and later expanded to include archival Gulf migration photographs and mural paintings from 16th-century Syrian Christian churches.
This inquiry laid the foundation for how I approach documentary work: through listening, deep engagement, and a sensitivity to submerged histories.
In 2022, I was invited to participate in
That Impossible Blue, part of NYUAD’s Heritage, Memory and Mobility Research Kitchen.
What began as a research project quickly became a deeply personal and artistic journey into the everyday lives of the Siddi community
Siddi community— a group whose history and voices remain largely absent from mainstream narratives of identity and belonging in India.
With the guidance of community leaders like Ganapathi Siddi, a social organizer, and Dr. Geetha Siddi, a theatre practitioner, I entered the Siddi world not as a documentarian, but as a guest and listener.
Through time, trust, and shared experiences, the project began to take shape. Close-Ups to the Unexplored is an ongoing photography project that highlights the inner lives, strength, and resilience of the Siddi people.
I met farmers, athletes, musicians, political voices, and spiritual elders—all engaged in shaping their lives with clarity, creativity, and resilience.
Their spirituality, which transcends religious boundaries, flows through the worship of Siddi Nassa, Their ancestral deity and is alive in the rhythm of the Dammam, the sacred drum that binds them together in community
This project is not just about documenting a marginalized community; it is about amplifying their voices and honoring their wisdom.
It is a process of seeing what has long remained unseen and hearing what history tried to silence.