Ritu
Ritu
Betrawati, November 2002
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Deepaki
Deepaki
Betrawati, November 2002
Along the main road, by a porch with fresh straw;
with dust at her feet and the sun angling in,
Deepaki stands.
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Sabin
Sabin
Betrawati, 2002
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Susana helps her mother move some straw
Susana helps her mother move some straw
Betrawati, November 2002
On the way back from the foot-bridge to Tupche, I saw little Susana helping move some straw. Her mother, in red, is bent over grabbing a bit more. I didn't know Susana well, so she was a bit shy when I took her photo.
The load that Susana is carrying is light—it is, after all, dried straw—but I have seen adults carry heavy loads such as a wooden desk with nothing more than the woven strap that goes around the item and then one’s head.
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Students play
Students playing
Uttargaya Secondary English Board School, Betrawati, autumn of 2000
A few of my students play a dancing game of their own creation.
The game is played by standing in a circle, with each child putting one foot out behind them, and resting it behind the knee of the child next to them.
(Serika, the tallest in the photo, described it as "making a web just by putting in one leg")
They then would then sing a song and clap along, hopping and turning-as-a-group on their remaining feet.
I just messaged Serika to see if the game had a name, but she said it didn't—so I think we’re going to call it “The Serika”.
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Now fifteen years later, Serika is a talented photographer and sent me some portraits that she has taken recently.
I have included them below:
(images copyright Serika Thapa)
Baklu, Serika’s nephew
"His real name is Subhan but everyone calls him Baklu."
Anubhav and a friend
"That guy with guitar is my brother Anubhav."
Sapana
Serika’s friend Sapana playing a card game called Judh Patti during the festival season.
Sapana’s name means dream in Nepali.
Suzan and Montosh
Suzan and Montosh
Betrawati, November 2002
Two friends.
Along the long dusty road that connects the Langtang valley to Kathmandu.
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Kalpana and Sabina
Kalpana and Sabina
Betrawati, November 2002
Two friends take a break by a haystack.
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Mahesh
Mahesh
Betrawati, November 2002
“Tapai ko naam ke ho?” I asked him.
[What is your name?]
I didn’t know if he gave me a nickname or his actual name,
but the name was one I had never heard of before in Nepal.
In my little photo notebook, I wrote the word that I thought he said in quotes.
“Mice.”
Update: Serika has let me know that his name is actually Mahesh.
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Sisters Kabita, Babita, Sushmita and Ashmita
Sisters Kabita, Babita, Sushmita and Ashmita
Betrawati, November 2002
A group photo of four of the five sisters from yesterday’s post.
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During the rice harvest
During the rice harvest
Betrawati, November 2002
Here is a photo that more clearly illustrates some of the rice stalks amassed during the rice harvest (I mentioned this in yesterday’s post, the photo from which was taken at the same time as the one above).
The children in this photo are:
Back row, from left to right—
Rupa (gold kurta), Bipana (in the middle), Dipa (white shirt)
Front row, from left to right—
Ashmita (maroon tee-shirt), Anita (red kurta top), Kobita (flowered dress), Sushmita (gold and white shorts)
Little Bobita sits naked on a stack of the stalks.
Ashmita, Bipana, Bobita, Kobita and Sushmita are all sisters.
The man in the background is wearing a topi, the traditional Nepali hat for men.
Finally, you can see the backside of a family (buffalo) cow under the roof on the left.
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