I found this man selling newspapers in a small village shop. He reminded me of the man on the poster behind him – Mahatma Gandhi, the father of modern India. Unlike the man in my previous portrait, I confronted him directly. I stopped in front of his shop and pointed to my camera and then to him, signaling my intention to take a picture, and giving him a chance to refuse if he wished. Very few Indians refused me or asked for payment. This man just stared at me, giving the portrait a straightforward, honest quality. If someone smiles for the camera, I make the picture, but rarely keep such photos. I don’t want pictures of people participating in a photographic ritual. I want pictures that tell a story or express ideas, as this one does. This image expresses the nature of a man, his work, and his place. By sheer accident, he also resembles a man he obviously idolizes.