Natalie Walsh: Out of all of the countries you could have done the photo book on, what was it about India that appealed to you?
Theophilos Constantinou: India was intuitive. I needed to abandon everything I knew and look into myself. The subcontinent seemed like the perfect place to take on such a journey.

Natalie: What were you hoping to capture during your travels?
Theophilos: I did not hope to capture anything in particular when I set out. I had never taken on a project like this… My mind was open. As I began moving through each state, experiences and moments began shaping the theme of the project.

Natalie: You started out in the Himalayan mountains and ended in West Bengal. Throughout the different locations visited which one has stuck with you and why?
Theophilos: The second image in the book is a road leading out of Kaza. This town is located in a desert mountain valley, high in the Himalaya mountains in the north-eastern part of the Indian state, Himachal Pradesh. The journey into the Spiti Valley is arguably on India’s most dangerous road. At the Kunzum Pass, you are reaching altitudes over 4,500 meters and en route to Kaza, our bus nearly went off the cliff on three separate occasions. If you Google ‘HRTC Bus Crashes‘, you will understand why I decided to walk roughly 215 km over a week to Reckong Peo. I will never forget the Spiti Valley.

Natalie: Did you meet any of the locals who had incredible stories or backgrounds?
Theophilos: I met a 65 year-old rambler and nomad named Ananda (seen in the photograph below). There are two images of him in the book, a portrait of him and of his passport. He was born into a well-off Indian family in 1954. but at the age of fifteen he ran away from home and never went back. He has never worked a day in his life, and he has spent the last 30 years walking extensively through east Africa and all 50 states. He told me epic stories about the slums of Nairobi, late night Greyhound bus terminal interactions with the cops in Cleveland, and traveling with Willie Nelson in Hawaii. He is one of the rare humans who has lived with absolute freedom. He also can’t stand sleeping inside, and when I asked him what the reason was, he answered, “Why would I want to sleep trapped under a ceiling, when I can be free underneath the stars.”

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