Published alongside Tasveer’s exhibition, Photowallah, this publication presents a survey of Waswo X. Waswo’s hand-coloured photographs (hand-coloured by Rajesh Soni) through a wide selection of prints produced in his studio in Udaipur– primarily from three series, A Studio in Rajasthan, Gauri Dancers and New Myths. Playfully examining the genres of both the ethnographic photograph-as-document that is linked to the colonial era, as well as the fantasy-inspired make-believe that emanated from traditional Indian portrait studios in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Waswo creates a unique brand of contemporary photography that is an inspired mix of homage and critique. Ranging from shots of single figures to theatrically arranged tableaux, these photographs feature everyone from Gauri dancers to flower sellers, the incarnations of mythological figures, farmers, school children and the village ‘bad boys’. Highlighting the inherent class hegemonies in the history of the posed-and-paid-for portrait, these images are witty commentaries on the nature of stereotyping, portraiture and representation. Featuring reproductions of the 42 photographs in the exhibition and additional unpublished images, the book also includes an essay by anthropologist and art historian, Dr. Christopher Pinney and a series of short stories by Waswo himself, in the form of amusing anecdotes of his experiences in India.