After missing our train between Tundla and Varanasi, our only option was to travel in Sleeper Class, even though our ticket was for Second AC. In India, trains range from air-conditioned first classes with berths and privacy to more crowded and basic options. Most foreign travellers avoid Sleeper Class, as it can be intense and far outside one’s comfort zone.

We squeezed our way into the carriage, backpacks in the air, struggling to find space. For the first two hours, we stood with nowhere to put down our bags, only our feet. The floor was covered with people sleeping, a tangle of legs and torsos. It was only thanks to the generosity of fellow passengers that, after three hours, we finally managed to find the corner of a bunk to sit on.

By the following morning, as people slowly got off, we finally found a bit of space to rest. At daybreak, I grabbed my camera and wandered through the carriages, photographing our fellow travellers.

This portrait is of a man shaving at the shared water basin. We never exchanged a single word, but we did exchange glances, and he responded with a quiet, unmistakable nod of consent when he saw the camera.