Color Beyond Ritual: Manu Srivastava’s Lens on Liberation
Manu Srivastava didn’t set out to become a photographer. She picked up the camera in 2022, just out of curiosity – a hobby at first. But as time passed, it became something deeper. More personal. Today, street and travel photography is her way of seeing the world and making sense of it. It’s how she tells the stories that matter.
From the bustling streets of Mathura to the quiet corners of everyday life, she captures images that feel raw and real. There’s no pretense in her work – just the honest beauty of life as it unfolds.
“A Different Kind of Holi”
Being from Mathura, Manu has seen Holi in all its color and chaos. She’s photographed it before. But this year was different. This year, she witnessed Widow Holi – a moment unlike any other.
For generations, widows in India have been denied the right to celebrate. Tradition dictated silence, mourning, invisibility. But this time, the rules were broken. Color returned where it had long been forbidden.
“The joy on their faces, the bursts of color in the air – it wasn’t just Holi,” She says. “It was about freedom. Change. The power of breaking norms through celebration.”
“The joy on their faces, the bursts of color in the air – it wasn’t just Holi,” She says. “It was about freedom. Change. The power of breaking norms through celebration.”
“More Than a Festival”
What Manu captured through her lens wasn’t just a festival – it was a quiet revolution. A moment where centuries of silence gave way to laughter, dance, and color. Each image in her series carries the weight of that shift. You can see it in the eyes of the women, in the streaks of pink and yellow across their skin. Strength. Liberation. A kind of joy that doesn’t ask for permission.
For her, this work is personal. It’s not just about photography. It’s about truth-telling. About using her camera to reflect what others might overlook – or choose not to see.
Through Manu’s lens, Holi becomes more than celebration – it becomes reclamation. A moment where tradition bends, and something freer takes its place. We’re proud to feature her work in Rare Storyteller, honoring a story of strength, hope, and the beauty of being seen.
The pictures and perspectives expressed above are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent the views of Rare Storyteller or its team.
to the world.