When Nilay Singh, a media student and musician from Navi Mumbai, decided to capture the lives of some of Mumbai’s early rising workers–those who make sure our routines run like clockwork–little did he know that documenting their routine on his camera will inspire him in ways he least expected.

He recently started a photo series on his Instagram account, called 4 AM Heroes, as a tribute to the dedication, and hard work, of these people.

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Nilay says, “We wake up every morning and find the newspaper at our doorstep kept precisely next to the packet of milk. But, we’re too busy in our lives to acknowledge the back story so as to how it happened. Herein lies my major motive of shooting 4 am Heroes.”

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mage source

“Changing my sleep cycle was the first step towards understanding their mind-set at that particular hour. Most of my subjects didn’t sleep more than three hours a day, and yet remained mentally healthy. Their efficiency and discipline is something that has always inspired me and then I thought, why not go out for rounds to shoot them, and promote their professions that most of us are unaware of,” he further adds.

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mage source

Nilay says that the reason he did not stop waking up every day, and go for the shoot is because,”I knew these guys were waking up before most of us, worked harder than most of us and were the family bread winners. So, this series is a tribute to all these unsung heroes.”

Check out his entire series here.