Nick Sethi’s Khichdi (Kitchari) is one of the most heartfelt books I’ve come across in awhile. At first, experiencing this book can feel a bit overwhelming, as it is made up of hundreds (if not thousands) of photographs from Sethi’s travels through India and features a different layout on each page; nested inside, though, is a sincere look at and celebration of the country and people he has come to know through his work. Sethi, an American-born photographer of Indian heritage, began using photography as a way to work around language and cultural barriers when he first began visiting India; it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to view this book as the journey of someone exploring a place that is both familiar and unfamiliar. By the end, there is a jubilant energy that drives the book, as we see Sethi posing and playing with children and adults alike. It’s a gem of a book — one I’ve continued to visit and be surprised by time and time again.
Nathaniel Grann is a photographer and educator based out of Los Angeles. He recently released his first monograph, Midwest Sentimental, with Peperoni Books. www.nathanielgrann.com