Matthew Busch

Photographer / Videographer / Writer

The Urban Fringe: Migrant Communities in India

Follow Hire

Location: Austin, Texas

Nationality: American

Biography: Matthew is an American photographer whose work often looks inward, exploring themes of belonging, relationships, and memory through his photographs and writings. His work often examines subcultures in America and elsewhere, looking closely at how... MORE

A man walks alone on the beach ...y in hope of better prospects.

A man walks alone on the beach of Mumbai, India, the city sprawled out behind him. Many migrants make their way to the city in hope of better prospects.

Mumbai city workers clean up th...reets during their daily work.

Mumbai city workers clean up the city streets during their daily work.

Mira Sanjay Shinde has her hair...times away from their husbands.

Mira Sanjay Shinde has her hair braided by her neighbor and friend, Chaya Dilip Dhotre, left, as the women prepare for the evening in their Mumbai community. Performing everyday tasks together is commonplace, and gives everyone a chance to socialize with each other, oftentimes away from their husbands.

Students from an afterschool tu...tion to graduate to this level.

Students from an afterschool tutoring program learn from teacher Shalini Wankhade in a small building in the Wadari community. The program teaches roughly 40 children from this community and has helped members from this group to graduate the 10th standard. Many are in the first generation to graduate to this level.

Kumli Meena is illuminated by t...d the family to sustain itself.

Kumli Meena is illuminated by the light her son Valiya brought from Mumbai where he goes for work, at their familial home in rural Ruthwara, Rajasthan.“Initially it’s ok but then everything seems very empty,” Kumli says about when her son leaves, “and when they come back it’s like my joy is coming. It’s full and happiness.” Kumli’s husband died when Valiya was still young, and she has worked menial village jobs like cutting and carrying hay to sustain herself and her three sons. Valiya’s remittances have helped the family to sustain itself.

Rajasthani migrant workers part...ommunity, far from their homes.

Rajasthani migrant workers participate in singing religious devotional songs, or “bhajans,” as they celebrate Naya Chand, “New Moon,” in their shared Mumbai flat. Megale, center right, plays the dhol drum. These men say that when there are more voices and therefore louder singing, it increases the devotional effect. Back in their village in rural Rajasthan the number of people who gather to sing bhajans can easily reach over 1000. Backpacks and clothing belonging to the 15 or so men that share this single-room apartment hang on the walls. Any one man’s belongings in the city can fit into one of these backpacks. And although they are often separated for work during the days, they are allowed to take a holiday by their employers for Naya Chand. Religious ceremonies like this are important for these men who want to remain attached to their roots and to come together as a community, far from their homes.

Twenty men from the Meena commu...le living together in the city.

Twenty men from the Meena community who share this small flat in Mumbai, look at their phones on their day off. These men take turns cooking daily meals and pool their money in order to keep their expenses down while living in the city. They must rise at 4am everyday in order to shower, cook and prepare themselves one by one in their small flat for the day's work. The Meena community that shares this flat are all from a rural region of Rajasthan and have connected over many years through their various social networks. They depend on each other to gain new contract work, to hear about news from their villages, and for social support while living together in the city.

A man drinks country liquor in ...n cancelled his work prospects.

A man drinks country liquor in the local butcher shop on a day that monsoon rain cancelled his work prospects.

Mukesh Meena, left, talks with ...Mumbai, working as a carpenter.

Mukesh Meena, left, talks with his girlfriend in his home village of Sagua in Rajasthan, as his cousin Ganesh Ganraj, right, watches a video on his phone after they have both returned from work for the day to the flat that they share with 14 others in Mumbai. Mukesh is in his second year of college in Rajasthan, and has come to Mumbai during his vacation period in order to earn some money. He first came to Mumbai with his older brother, and because of the wages he earns, he plans to come back and live in Mumbai, working as a carpenter.

Workers from Rajasthan sit toge...ay is used as a place to relax.

Workers from Rajasthan sit together on the highway median and spend time on their smartphones outside of the rooms they share in this northern suburb of Mumbai. The space can be cramped and hot, often with up to 20 men sleeping and living in the same room, and so the open space on the highway is used as a place to relax.

A ration card controls nearly e... rules used to make it harder.

A ration card controls nearly everything for migrant workers in Mumbai. Securing food rations, the right to work, and the ability to file complaints are all tied to workers' "legitimacy," in the city, designated by their possession of a ration card like this one. Many are unable to secure these cards once they migrate to new locations because of specific rules used to make it harder.

Twenty men from the Meena community who share this small flat in Mumbai, share a modest pot of lentils, vegetables and roti for the day's breakfast and lunch. These men take turns cooking daily meals and pool their money in order to keep their expenses down while living in the city. They must rise at 4am everyday in order to shower, cook and prepare themselves one by one in their small flat for the day's work. The Meena community that shares this flat are all from a rural region of Rajasthan and have connected over many years through their various social networks. They depend on each other to gain new contract work, to hear about news from their villages, and for social support while living together in the city.

Men from the Meena community wh...le living together in the city.

Men from the Meena community who share a small flat in Mumbai, wait outside the local train station to be hired for construction work. These men take turns cooking daily meals and pool their money in order to keep their expenses down while living in the city. They must rise at 4am everyday in order to shower, cook and prepare themselves one by one in their small flat for the day's work. This Meena community are all from a rural region of Rajasthan and have connected over many years through their various social networks. They depend on each other to gain new work contracts, to hear about news from their villages, and for social support while living together in the city.

Udaya Meena, second right, star...l stability, it seems unlikely.

Udaya Meena, second right, stares out of the bus window while Valiya Meena, right, sleeps beside him on the 14-hour bus journey from Mumbai to their home village of Ruthwara, Rajasthan. How often these men decide to return home depends on their financial ability to do so and on their family’s needs. Udaya will only stay a few days to celebrate the Navratri festival with his family while Valiya will stay a bit longer. Valiya hopes to secure an engagement with a girl from his village before the Diwali festival but without enough money saved up to prove his financial stability, it seems unlikely.

Valiya Meena, returns to his fa... full and happiness.”

Valiya Meena, returns to his familial home in rural Rajasthan after a 14-hr bus ride from Mumbai where he works as a contract laborer. Valiya carries home gifts for his girlfriend, some hair products and clips, and a set of lights for his mother to illuminate their home at night. Valiya sends remittances from his earnings in Mumbai back home to support his family in the village. Valiya has been working outside of his home village since he was 8 years old, first in Gujarat and finally in Mumbai. Originally he was employed at a hotel, serving tea. Since then he has worked a number of construction jobs which support him in the city, his mother and two younger brothers at home. "Even until now I don’t like living in Bombay. I’m living there because of circumstances," Valiya says. “It’s good he goes. But then he goes and it gets lonely and empty. Two of my sons go and work in the city," Valiya's mother Kumli says. “Initially it’s ok but then everything seems very empty. And when they come back it’s like my joy is coming. It’s full and happiness.”

Town scene of Bori.

Bapu Suryavanshi, right, encour...ebrate various events together.

Bapu Suryavanshi, right, encourages his cousin to join him in town as they decide what to do with their day together in Bori. Both cousins have lived in Mumbai their whole lives now but return yearly to this village to spend time with family and celebrate various events together.

Residents of this small communi... water in many of their homes.

Residents of this small community in Bori secure their daily drinking water from barrels that have been delivered from a water truck. The remote town where members of this community have been able to purchase homes because of their steady work in the cities, still does not have running and potable water in many of their homes.

A farmer waits as a wild boar t...led is prepared for butchering.

A farmer waits as a wild boar they have just killed is prepared for butchering.

The Suryavanshi family sits tog...t the same tree, or one nearby.

The Suryavanshi family sits together preparing lunch out of the goat they have just sacrificed at the top of the Masoba Mandir near the Purna River in Maharashtra. They have held this same meal every year for the past 20 years, always seeking out the same tree, or one nearby.

PLAY

STOP

GRID

FULL

LOVE

Thumbnail of A man walks alone on the beach o_ty in hope of better prospects.

Thumbnail of Mumbai city workers clean up the_treets during their daily work.

Thumbnail of Mira Sanjay Shinde has her hair _ntimes away from their husbands.

Thumbnail of Students from an afterschool tut_ation to graduate to this level.

Thumbnail of Kumli Meena is illuminated by th_ed the family to sustain itself.

Thumbnail of Rajasthani migrant workers parti_community, far from their homes.

Thumbnail of Twenty men from the Meena commun_ile living together in the city.

Thumbnail of A man drinks country liquor in t_in cancelled his work prospects.

Thumbnail of Mukesh Meena, left, talks with h_ Mumbai, working as a carpenter.

Thumbnail of Workers from Rajasthan sit toget_way is used as a place to relax.

Thumbnail of A ration card controls nearly ev_c rules used to make it harder.

Thumbnail of Men from the Meena community who_ile living together in the city.

Thumbnail of Udaya Meena, second right, stare_al stability, it seems unlikely.

Thumbnail of Valiya Meena, returns to his fam_s full and happiness.”

Thumbnail of Bapu Suryavanshi, right, encoura_lebrate various events together.

Thumbnail of Residents of this small communit_e water in many of their homes.

Thumbnail of A farmer waits as a wild boar th_lled is prepared for butchering.

Thumbnail of The Suryavanshi family sits toge_ut the same tree, or one nearby.

Public Story

The Urban Fringe: Migrant Communities in India

Date of Work Aug 2017 - Ongoing

Updated Sep 2022

Location Mumbai, India

Topics Community, Documentary, Environment, Family, Immigration, India, Journalism, Migration, Mumbai, Personal Projects, Photography, Photojournalism, Politics

The explosion of people living in cities around the world, estimated to be at 6 billion by 2045, constitutes the largest migration and concentration of human beings in history. From all across India migrants come to Mumbai, millions in the last decade. Those coming seek economic liberation from the stagnation and listlessness that they feel in countless villages across this disparate country. It has happened suddenly, and without ceremony. Picking up and leaving seems to be part of the human experience. Moving, always moving. This project looks at the ethos of migrant communities in this city, and what that reality looks like for them and their families depending on Mumbai, the fourth largest city in the world with an urban agglomeration of over 20 million people.