Haggling At The Fish Market, Mumbai

There definitely aren't little white tags with bright red letters stating the price of the seafood at the Sassoon pier in Mumbai. The fresh product comes off the boat, the middle men/women suitors descend and the haggling begins.

"Who wants a shark! Let's discuss."

The weigh-in and a money man paying close attention to the result.

For some vendors, it's a waiting game to get rid of the (fish and crab) stock.

A couple more looks at the suave middle men and the hard-working women vendors. It's obvious who does the heavy lifting and who makes the heavy profit.

Shrimp Peeling At The Fish Market, Mumbai

Don't quit your day job. Or any job, for that matter. At the Sassoon fishing pier, the worst job is reserved for mostly young women, the task of peeling shrimp. It looks like a bad Kafka vignette: piles and piles of shrimp dumped at your feet, you on a tiny stool peeling and peeling and peeling.

You make a little progress and more shrimp come. The only way to get through the day is knowing it's not a whole day; seafood comes in early morning and is gone in a matter of hours.

The fishing boat docks and the heaps of shrimp start to come onto the pier.

Ladies, start your fingers, let the peeling begin. And keep going. Ugh.

Beauty under the most trying circumstances, something common and uplifting in India. These women are relegated to tiny stools, but still manage to come dressed in fabulous frocks and blingy bangles -impressive.

Another look at the tough task and an example of a typical lovely young woman doing the peeling.

Fish Market Pier, Mumbai

Did you know Mumbai is an island? Now you do. Where there's an island, there's lots of water and water means fish. Mumbai is a bit like Manhattan, a huge metropolis with maritime roots, especially on the south side of the island.

You can still wander to land's edge, find a pier and watch the fishing boats come in early morning to sell their catch.

Let's head to the Sassoon docks. Yea, it's looking fishy.

A couple of docked boats and a sample of the product for sale.

A bigger product sample.

Come with your waterproof bin if you plan on hauling something home.

Portrait of two men manning a warehouse.

The boats are stacked up, looking like they were thrown together after a storm. Another stack: baskets of fish.

Gas containers ready for reloading onto a boat.

The scale master and blocks of ice coming off the line.

A final look at the action, some folks working; some folks waiting.