Children from the Nursery class
Children from the Nursery class
Balaju, Kathmandu, September 5th, 2018
Sabitri at the window
Sabitri at the window
Balaju, Kathmandu, November 22nd, 2018
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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Malina and Nabina, bahini and didi
Malina and Nabina, bahini and didi
Manamaiju, Kathmandu, September 6th, 2018
I met Nabina about fifteen years ago; and her sister Malina a couple of years later, when Nabina would often carry her younger sibling around.
A younger Nabina holding a younger Malina.
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Nirmala and Sabitri
Nirmala and Sabitri
Balaju, Kathmandu, September 5th, 2018
Nirmala and Sabitri both teach Classes 1, 2 and 3 at the Niharika Shishu Kunja High School located near the Bais Dhara (22 water spouts) at Balaju Park.
Extra: Photo Kathmandu
Extra: Photo Kathmandu
Patan, November 6th, 2015
Right now there is a fantastic outdoor photography exhibit in Patan called Photo Kathmandu. There are over twenty displays of photos, some taken just after the first earthquake in April, other photos taken a generation ago.
I love this exhibit. Since the photos are mostly hung up outdoors—literally on the walls of the neighborhood buildings—it is open and welcoming to all. People walk by in their daily routine and a photo catches their eye and they stop to look. A grandmother and grandfather walk by the "A Democratic Awakening" display, and get in close to look at the large black and white photos. For one of the exhibits, a friendly volunteer shows you through a small door and suddenly you are in the photographer Juju Bhai Dhakhwa’s actual house; you see the photos he took of his wife and children, and standing there saying welcome is one of his sons, now grown.
I cannot say enough good things about this exhibition that has been put together.
And all this while you are walking the beautiful streets of Patan, a city of brick and fantastic temples awash in history.
If you happen to be in Nepal right now, please take an afternoon to go visit the Photo Kathmandu exhibits in Patan. It goes through November 9th, and it's fantastic.
(below are some photos from a few of the exhibits)
••••
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Aunt and her niece, cooking a meal
Aunt and her niece, cooking a meal
Janakpur, Nepal, October 21st, 2015
Urmila (in orange) and her niece Ram Kala work to prepare a meal.
Urmila is one of my friend’s maternal aunts, and Ram Kala is a cousin.
With the punitive months-long Indian blockade of fuel and supplies, cooking gas is almost impossible to come by and so meals are cooked over wood fires. Because of the smoke inherent with wood fires, families try to cook outside if possible. Cooking times are lengthened, and with only one stove “burner”, each part of the meal (lentils, rice, tea, et cetera) must wait it’s turn to be cooked.
Though the small rectangular stool in the lower-left is only a couple of inches tall, it can make all the difference comfort-wise when one is squatting by the fire for an hour or more.
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Relatives catch up during the Dashain festival
Relatives catch up during the Dashain festival
Janakpur, Nepal, October 22nd, 2015
Chandar (in red) is the maternal aunt of my friend.
Dukhni is the daughter of my friend’s paternal uncle.
(so, Dukhni is my friend’s cousin).
This was during the Dashain festival, when people go home to visit their relatives.
The neighborhood was flooded with Nepali and Bollywood music, which was being belted skyward by loudspeakers mounted on roofs; the goal being to play nice music to please the gods.
In Janakpur (which is only a few kilometers from the Indian border) you seem to see far more saris than in Kathmandu proper. Though a dry and dusty area, the myriad fabrics the women wear make it a colorful place—I wish I could have stayed longer.
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Four friends
Four friends
Manamaiju, Kathmandu, October 28th, 2015
Siblings Sachem and Subashna (in the blue and yellow) with their friends. In the sideyard entryway of their apartment building.
One of the first times I met Sachem and Subashna, they motioned me to bend down like they wanted to tell me a secret. I leaned down and canted my head to hear better, and they kissed my cheeks.
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