Photography can transform a fleeting moment into a story, offering a glimpse into lives and cultures that may otherwise remain unfamiliar. For photographer MC Shekhar, the camera has long been a way of documenting communities, traditions and lifestyles that are often overlooked. Having spent the past 36 years photographing tribal communities across India, Shekhar is now focusing on the Mathura Lambada community of Telangana, documenting their distinctive culture and traditions ahead of World Tribal Day on August 9.
His interest in tribal communities began decades ago and has since grown into an extensive documentation project. “I have been working on many tribes. In Telangana, I am focusing on tribes who have migrated from Mathura. They are known as Mathura Lambadas from the Banjara community,” he says.
Also known as Kaithi Lambadas, the community is deeply devoted to Lord Krishna and follows distinctive cultural practices. They settled in parts of erstwhile Adilabad and Nizamabad districts many years ago and have retained several traditions that distinguish them from other communities.
According to Shekhar, the Mathura Lambadas have a lifestyle closely connected to agriculture and nature. “They are people who are devotees of Lord Krishna and they celebrate Krishnashtami. Their work, lifestyle and culture are different from the usual. They eat only vegetarian food,” he explains.
Their connection with Krishnashtami is particularly significant, with celebrations beginning around 15 days before the festival and continuing for another 15 days afterwards.
Documenting their lives, however, has not always been easy. The community lives in Gandhari, a forested region around 180 kms from Hyderabad, where agriculture remains an important source of livelihood. “When they settle in a place, they search for water and livelihood and are mainly focused on agriculture. They improve their lifestyle through agriculture,” says Shekhar.
His photographs capture not just the people but also the everyday rhythms, traditions and practices that define the community.
The community also follows strict customs during the festival. Visitors are not permitted to enter their homes during the celebrations,
making it challenging for outsiders attempting to document their traditions. Their relationship with livestock and milk is another distinctive aspect, with milk being used to make and preserve various dairy products.
One of the most striking visual markers of the community is its traditional headgear. Shekhar compares it to the turban worn by members of the Sikh community, describing it as an important symbol of identity. However, the practice is slowly disappearing. “This generation has not been doing it because they lose their hair while practising it. Now only a few of them, mainly some elders, wear these headgears,” he notes.
Shekhar’s engagement with tribal communities dates back to 2013, when he held an exhibition on tribes. Since then, he has continued researching and photographing different communities, gradually building an extensive archive. His next step is to bring this work together through coffee table books. The Mathura community will be the subject of his first coffee table book, followed by documentation of other major tribal communities, including the Moriya and tribes from Araku. He is also working on tribal communities in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, with around 80 percent of the work completed.
His work has also taken him into challenging territories. While photographing tribal communities in Telangana, Shekhar chooses areas away from regions affected by Naxalite activity. In Chhattisgarh, however, the situation can be more complicated, with the presence of police forces and Naxalite groups creating obstacles. “I travel a lot for all these and communicate with the police and tribes and explain to them why I am capturing them,” he says.
There have also been occasions when communities have objected to his work, particularly after photographs appeared in the media. “Sometimes, after the pictures have gone to the news, they have objected. They even asked me not to explore and stop capturing them,” he recalls.
His passion for tribal photography was shaped by his mentor, Rajan Babu, who worked extensively on tribal communities and received a London fellowship for his work. “I have learnt from him and focused on Indian tribes and explored them so that future generations would know about them,” Shekhar says.
The journey is now expanding beyond India. Shekhar plans to travel to Indonesia in December to document two or three tribal communities, with the intention of eventually presenting their stories through coffee table books. For a photographer who has spent more than three decades looking through the lens at communities that often remain outside the mainstream narrative, his objective is clear — to preserve their stories, traditions and identities for generations to come.