Students playing on top of a hill near Manamaiju Marg

Students playing on top of a hill near Manamaiju Marg
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 31st, 2015

I saw these students as I passed a small, alternatively grassy and sandy hill near Anju’s sewing shop. They had been playing by climbing the hill and then running/tumbling-with-wild-abandon down one side of it.

From left to right, back to front they are:

Krishala,
Binita,
Dibya,
Prasamsa,
Shristy, and
Nabina (in front with OBEY hat)

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Sangam and Shreejesh

Sangam and Shreejesh
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, October 16th, 2015

There is a short-cut I sometimes take, when I want to get over to Manamaiju without walking all the way up to the hairpin curve by Nag Pokhari. The path starts as a bit of an alley, that then leads down to cross the floor of a small valley. Right before the valley there is a small plot of a garden opposite a tall house that looks out over all. In the past, I have taken photos of Ritisha and her parents, who live in the house. Sometimes as I am walking across the valley I will hear my name called, and look up to see Ritisha and her sister on the roof, and we exchange funny faces back and forth.

On the day of this photo, Shreejesh walked up and asked if he could have his photo taken as well (his house has a large barky dog, so I don't often go by it). I said sure. Shreejesh is ten years old, and his friend Sangam is six.

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Mother and child

Mother and child
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, October 12th, 2015

Indira with her mother, near their house in Dadagaun.

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Imose emerges from a field of rice

Imose emerges from a field of rice
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, Saturday, September 26th, 2015

I was watching two children work together to launch a kite, when I heard voices in the nearby field of rice. Although I couldn't see anyone, stalks of rice were moving about. As I walked over, Imose emerged from the rice, playing with his scarf. His friend followed a minute later.

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Imose’s friend emerges moments later.

Ganesh

Ganesh
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, Saturday, September 26th, 2015

I met Ganesh while I was delivering a photo to his wife Anjana. 
Ganesh works as a bus driver for one of the international schools on Manamaiju Marg. 
Being Saturday, it was his day off and he was in the process of fixing the motorcycle seen in the photo.

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Anjana
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, Saturday, September 19th, 2015

Sunita’s neighbors

Sunita’s neighbors
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, Friday, September 25th, 2015

Risan in front, Supriya in the back, and Jyoti in the pigtails.

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My shadow, Ramesh

My shadow, Ramesh
Dadagaun, Kathmandu 2005

The afternoon sun was low, casting a warm glow. Looking around at the colors it lent the surroundings, I thought I'd take a self-portrait of sorts with my shadow thrown on a wall. While I was fiddling with the focus, Ramesh had followed me down, and walked up in his plaid cholo.

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(Ramesh’s image above is from a rather smallish scan of the photo. I had to enlarge the image a little, which is why it may look a little blurry/pixelly)

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Another photo of Ramesh, on a warmer day.

Sukiyah widening the road

Sukiyah widening the road
Along the road to Dadagaun, Kathmandu 2005

Outside of a tea shop, a group of five men work with tools of wood and flanged metal; widening this dirt road that branches away from the city. Digging and moving tons of dirt, hacking away at a buried tree stump. The sun presses down, but the road's thin enough that the plants along the side provide for a bit of shade.

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(Sukiyah’s image above was scanned from a 4x6" that I had had printed with a white border. As such, it's not quite a full-frame image; the image is a little tall for it's width, but I was hesitant to crop it any more)

Sujal, sitting on the stairs

Sujal, sitting on the stairs
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, 2005

I was visiting friends when I happened to see Sujal, a child of my friend’s neighbors. Sujal sits on the stairs outside of his family’s apartment. When he can manage to get out of the loving arms of his mother, his aunt, or one of the neighbor girls, he’s starting to walk.

I believe Sujal—just 18 months old—had just had his bath. His mother had then lovingly applied a small tika to Sujal’s forehead and kajal around his eyes.

The stairs behind Sujal lead to the roof, which is unfinished but provides a space to dry laundry in the air, or vegetables in the sun. The stairs themselves also provide a space to lean pots to dry after they have been washed at the nearby communal spigot.

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(Sujal’s image above was scanned from a 4x6" that I had had printed with a white border. As such, it's not quite a full-frame image; the image is a little tall for it's width, but I was hesitant to crop it any more)

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In this photo showing the same steps, you can see two pots drying. After they have been scrubbed clean inside and out, a thin coat of mud is applied to the outside. I believe that while the mud still allows for the transfer of heat, it keeps the pots from getting black from the fire of the family stove.

Laughter in the afternoon sun

Laughter in the afternoon sun
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, 2011

My friend Sunita’s neighbors. Standing in the courtyard where Sunita married in 2006, beneath lines festooned with colorful flags. Those stairs in the background? There’s another set when you get to the top—it's where I took this photo of two friends.

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