There’s something common to the chant of the farmers egging on their yaks and ploughing barley in Spiti’s fields, the low, melodious hum of the mask makers in Majuli island, Assam and the fast, frenzied cadence of the ship builders’ voices at Mandvi, Kachchh, as they pull gargantuan ships from the ocean. Their labour draws energy and rhythm from the tunes they weave into everyday work. Now, theatre actor Iswar Srikumar and documentary filmmaker Anushka Meenakshi are out to document work songs, both vanishing and thriving.

Weavers in Thanjavore sing songs while weaving and (below) Anushka Meenakshi and Iswar Srikumar.

In March 2011, the couple were house-hunting in Chennai when Meenakshi whimsically suggested that the couple travel the country for six months. “We set out with a camera and no agenda. On the road, we were drawn to folk musicians and began filming them,” says Srikumar.