INDIA: THE LIVE SHOW

Both this man and his moustache are professionals. It’s what they do for a living, we’re told.

It may be a bit hokey at times, but this Maharajas Express train trip is pure theatre, and we love it.

At every whistle stop, before we board the bus to take us around each town, we’re greeted by troupes of local musicians and dancers.

The performance quality is variable. In Indian street music, playing accurately and sensitively often loses out to the need to play loudly – blowing, hitting or scraping with infectious enthusiasm. The dancers may not be as tight as a Bollywood chorus, though they make up for any lack of precision with energy, colour and smiles. And just occasionally there’s a gem.

All of this suits the photographers among us very well.

While I usually feel diffident about shoving the camera into the faces of photogenic strangers in the street, anyone who dresses up in a funny costume and makes a song and dance is saying, ‘Look at me!’ I’m happy to do just that.

The Mumbai Police Band. We hope they’re better at catching bad guys.

Camping it up in Maharashtra.

Whirling in Jodhpur.

Blowing up a storm in Bikaner.

Bikaner girls – even they make selfies on the mobile.

Dancing in the desert, bending over backwards to please the visitors.

The horsemen of Udaipur.

A jovial gentleman of Jaipur.

Trips on the Maharajas Express can be organised through Railbookers.com.au

The writer was the guest of Railbookers.