Sister and brother

Sister and brother
A small town somewhere between Betrawati and Kathmandu, 2000

With my school closing for a week, I was heading south to Kathmandu.
The five-hour bus ride always made one brief stop along the way, in one of a handful of sixty-meter towns built around a dozen or so restaurants.

Taking the chance to stretch my legs, I walked by another bus and saw this sister and brother looking out of their open window. I namaste’d them and then went to shake their hands. One of them shook my hand and the other turned my hand and gave it a quick kiss, making me laugh in surprise. I asked if I could take their photo and they said yes. I wish I had gotten their names, but the whole interaction was probably over in less than 30 seconds. I never saw them again.

I am so glad that I got their photo,
and I feel that wherever they are today, that they are doing great things with others. 

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Ram Bhakta and a friend

Ram Bhakta and a friend
Betrawati, June 2011

Next to the small temple.
Beyond the orange-colored blossoms of the tree behind, a view of the Falakhu.
All around, the timeless roar of the Trisuli.

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A photo, from 2000, of the temple that lies just a few meters away.
A young Barsha is on the right.

Harshu

Harshu
Kathmandu, May 2011

I took this photo of Harshu (pronounced “Har-saw”) in Futung-6, near the school that is by Nag Pokhari. I think I had been petting the puppies when he walked by, coming home from school.

When I went back to give him his photo a few days later, I went from house to house before I found his mother Parmilla and gave it to her.

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Though she be but little...

Though she be but little...
Manamaiju, Kathmandu 2002

Shanti carries her bai [younger brother] Jiram, 2,
while her other bai Bijay, 4, stands near.

“Though she be but little, she is fierce”
—A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3, Scene 2

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Pundewoti

Pundewoti
Betrawati, November 2002

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Children by a bridge to Tupche

Children by a bridge to Tupche
Betrawati 2000 

On the road to Trishuli Bazar lays another bridge to Tupche. More recently built, the planks on this one are uniform pieces of metal grid instead of weathered wooden planks. Near the other side of the bridge lies Tupche’s school. 

The vines in the top right of the frame hang down from an enormous tree. Passing the tree you might hear children giggling from someone high in the tree, but be unable to see them for all the vines.

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The tree is a popular place to play.

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Some of the giggling children that have climbed up into the tree.

Bandmembers at Sunita's wedding

Bandmembers at Sunita's wedding
Dadagaun, Kathmandu, February 1st 2005

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Umesh

Umesh
Kathmandu, 2002

This photo of Umesh (who told me he also goes by the name Rupock) was taken within 15 meters of this previously posted photo. And with the previous photo, it took some time to find Umesh again—the downside of taking photos at a crossroad.

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Bibishah, Reshnah and Binitah

Bibishah, Reshnah and Binitah
Betrawati, May 25th, 2005

These three were neighbors of my old host family. This was the first time I got to see them when they weren’t babies or stranger-shy toddlers.

When I took this photo in 2005, many of the children I knew when I volunteered had since moved to Kathmandu. Some of the others who remained in Betrawati, tiny when I first met them but now much much taller, still ask to be picked up and swung around when they saw me.

In 2005, Kathmandu provided both the possibility of better schools, and at least the idea of a more arm’s-length relationship with violence from the Maoist rebels.

When I was first in Betrawati in 2000, there were a handful of uneasy but resigned young police who took turns keeping watch with heirloom rifles. 

My second visit in 2002 saw the police gone. A wall of their stone-walled station all but removed by a Maoist socket-bomb. 

In 2005, the structure sat abandoned, and a family was using it to store dry grass for their buffalo.

The Maoist civil war ended with a peace accord signed in November of 2006. I was so relieved to hear it.

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(the 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)

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.