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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Saraswati

Saraswati
Betrawati, November 2002

I took this photo during the rice harvest. The ground all about us was littered with dry rick stalks, and children played on the mounds stacked on the side of the path. Later these stalks would be used as feed for the family buffalo.

Saraswati was named after the Hindu goddess of art, knowledge, learning, music, and wisdom. 

I find Saraswati’s smile in this photo so warm and true.

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Kancha

Kancha
Tupche, November 2002

In front of a teashop in Tupche. Out front there is a small truck-wide dirt road; and on the other side of the road, a canal of cold clear water flows.

On this day, I also took a photo of Kancha’s older sister Kanchi, fresh from school in her light blue shirt.

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Here is Kancha’s didi (older sister) Kanchi, as she appears on my contact sheet of the negatives.

Kalpana

Kalpana
Between Manamaiju and Shrijana Nagar, Kathmandu, December 2002

Six-year-old Kalpana had fashioned a head-band out of a strip of metal and was wearing it proudly when I met her. 

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Rabita

Rabita
Between Manamaiju and Shrijana Nagar, Kathmandu, December 2002

Seventeen-year-old Rabita, holding a pen. 
This photo was taken just on the edge of the community I spoke of in last Friday’s post.

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Birendra

Birendra
Between Manamaiju and Shrijana Nagar, Kathmandu, January 2003

Twelve-year-old Birendra. This photo was taken just outside of his home, in the community that I spoke of in last Friday’s post.

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Sabita

Sabita
Between Manamaiju and Shrijana Nagar, Kathmandu, January 2003

Eight-year-old Sabita—in the community that I spoke of in Friday’s post.

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Sankar

Sankar
Between Manamaiju and Shrijana Nagar, Kathmandu, January 2003

Twelve-year-old Sankar—in the community that I spoke of in Friday’s post.

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Sanu, Bemala, and Prakash

Sanu, Bemala, and Prakash
Between Manamaiju and Shrijana Nagar, Kathmandu, January 2003

Three siblings—Sanu, 13, Bemala, 10, and Prakash, 5—in the community that I spoke of in yesterday's post.

(Prakash could be seen in yesterday's photo, just to the left of his friend Sarod.)

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Prakash, Sarod and Sudib

Prakash, Sarod and Sudib
Between Manamaiju and Shrijana Nagar, Kathmandu, January 2003

One day I followed a wide dirt path, passing tall bluffs of sand that were slowly being scraped into trucks by construction crews wanting sand. I passed a large tractor on my right, parked outside of a low building roughly the size of a bus. The path got thinner then, and a bit bumpier as it snaked along. The steep bluffs on my left turned into more gradual hills.

Finally the path ended, and I found myself at the entrance of a small community—perhaps sixteen houses total. Children of varying ages came out to say hello to me.

I took photos of each child that I met there, and returned a couple of days later with copies for their families.

This photo of Sarod (with his friends Prakash and Subib next to him) was one of the first that I took. Looking at the photos now, I can see how bright the winter sun was that day.

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