Vacations for Debdatta Chakraborty are essentially photo excursions, as he calls them. Travelling light with basic equipment and avoiding tourist locations, Chakraborty heads to local spots to experience and capture the true atmosphere of a place. His photograph of a street food vendor at Khayam Chowk from a trip to Srinagar in 2021 won the overall title at the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2022.

As clichéd as it may sound, it’s true that Kebabiyana, the picture, tells a story. This Kolkata-based visual storyteller offers not a thousand words but a glimpse behind the frame, narrating that every evening, the ordinary looking street transforms into a local food hub as vendors set up stalls. He says, “February evenings in Srinagar are cold, and it’s very comforting when the street is filled with aromatic smoke and warmth. The food contributes to the street’s atmosphere.” Revisiting his fond memories, Chakraborty recalls asking the street vendor to add more smoke to capture the essence of the entire street in one frame.