Faces of Nepal

[emydura]

I have posted some landscape photos previously of Nepal. Here are some photos of the local people, mostly from my trek in western Nepal. The children in particular loved to be photographed. As soon as I took the photo they would be pulling the camera off my neck so they could see themselves on the LCD screen. I was really impressed with how respectful the children were. More respect than I would ever get in my own country. Despite seeing few westerners they showed no fear and enjoyed walking along the track with me.

I always greeted the local people with Namaste (Nepalese welcome) and a big smile. This immediately broke down any barriers. I made a bit of an effort to speak there language which also helped.

I really enjoyed taking photos of the local people. More so than I would have realized. I just wished I had taken by fast 50 mm lens as I was often shooting in low light. Anyway here a few photos of the people of the region.



Beautiful young girl from the village of Bhulbule. One of my favourite photos from the whole trip. I printed this one out and framed it.

Young boy from Jumla.

Old man in a traditional pose. The trek occurred during the Tihar festival (brother & sister festival) which is basically like our Christmas. Families come together to celebrate this occasion. The marigold necklace would have been put around his neck by his sister.

The green necklace signifies this beautiful young girl is married.

During Tihar, young Nepalese go around to each house and put on a performance (both singing and dancing). The house owners in return pay them money, which they use to go on a picnic etc. Some of the dances of the older children in particular can be quite a show with microphones and backing sound systems.

A couple of young boys used the money from Tihar proceeds to buy 2 rabbits for there picnic. They look to cute to eat.

Young boy from Dolpo wearing a traditional Nepalese hat.

I befriended this old lady from the town of Dhankuta. She didn’t speak English and my Nepalese is very limited so communication was difficult. She invited me into her house where she offered me a glass of locally made alcohol (ruksi). Now I don’t drink alcohol normally at all let alone some cheap home made brew. But she wouldn’t take no for an answer and I didn’t want to offend her. It was terrible. Would put hairs on your chest. I left her place feeling a little merry.

An old couple from the Dolpo region.

Inside the house of a lovely Nepalese family I stayed with. The mother on the left had 8 daughters and one son. The two older girls in this photo are her daughters. This was a very special occasion for the family as the 19 year old son had returned from Kathmandu after 8 years to celebrate Tihar. So all the daughters had arrived from around the region to celebrate. Just a beautiful family who made me feel very welcome. You can see some cell roti (fried bread) on the stove. That is seriously nice, believe me.

Daughter of the women above. Sweet girl who walked with me for half an hour or so along the track. Like most people here she couldn’t speak English. The children were always very trusting and showed little fear of me.

 

[emydura]

I asked this girl could I take her photo. I thought she said no, so went on just photographing the river. Next minute she runs over carrying this red spike and posed for me. Like most Nepalese the pose is always very serious. She was a sweet girl and I have very fond memories of that photo shoot.

Marijuana grows everywhere in western Nepal. In fact there was a big crop right next to the school these kids went to.

They maybe poor in this region but the people always have a smile on there face especially the children.

I was trying to take a photo of flowers in the foreground and mountains in the background. It just happened to be on the border of a school. All of a sudden all these faces poked through the marigolds.

Here is a holy man referred to as a Sardu. He would come around to the place we were staying asking for money so he could go on his pilgrimage. I said I’d give him some money if I could photograph him.

A bunch of young kids from Dharan playing cricket in the street.

A school in eastern Nepal we popped into. They sang the Nepalese national anthem to us very very loud. My ears are still ringing. We sang them the Australian anthem in return.

A Nepalese princess. Actually it is my 4 y/o daughter who loves to dress up in all the Nepalese clothes and jewelry.

 

[valenzino]

Beautifull photos!!You're really pro!

 

[Hera]

Your daughter is beautiful and that's a wonderful picture of her. I love her candid expression. The Nepalese photos are always inspiring, the people have such honesty in their eyes. I love looking at your photos. I feel like I was there with you. Thanks for posting again.

 

[goldenrose]

What great faces! :clap::clap: Excellent job, I especially like the first & the last!
Some of the young gals have pink on their foreheads, the old woman has a yellow dot & some have nothing, what's the signifigance?

 

[Drorchid]

I agree, great pictures! And I also like the first and the last one the best!

Robert

 

[likespaphs]

you take some mighty good photos!

 

[slippertalker]

Marvelous photos! Every face tells a story.........

 

[NYEric]

Thanx for sharing more of your trip.

 

[emydura]

What great faces! :clap::clap: Excellent job, I especially like the first & the last!
Some of the young gals have pink on their foreheads, the old woman has a yellow dot & some have nothing, what's the signifigance?

Thanks

In Nepal the mark on the forehead is referred to as a tika. They are worn for different purposes. Some are just purely ornamental like my daughters one in the last photo. Married women will wear a red one to signify they are married. The old women was going to the temple to worship. I think she was a widower so that is why she couldn't wear red. She could have worn white or yellow. As for those girls not wearing them. Tikas are just like jewellery, makeup etc - not always worn.

There is also a tika for ceremonial occassions which is worn by both men and women. It is made up of a mixture of abir, red powder, yoghurt and grains of rice. There are quite a few photos here of this as they were taken during the festival Tihar (brother & suister festival). Normally the sister will put a marigold necklace around her brothers neck and apply the tika. The brother applies the tika to her sister in kind. One of the daughters of the family I was staying with on the trek applied the tika to my head. After a while you forget it is there and you go to scratch your forehead and rice goes everywhere. A few of the photos has large red tikas over the forehead. They would have initially had rice which would have come off over time.

There are many ceremonies where the tika is applied - weddings, birthdays, welcomings etc. My daughter had her 4th birthday while she was there. Guests would get down on there knees put the tika on her forehead and give her gifts/money. After about the fifth person did this, my daughter said "who's next". Cringe .

A bit more about the tika here -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilaka

David

 

[nikv]

David,

I have enjoyed all of your photos of your trek through Nepal, but none more than these delightful photographs of the people who live there. You have truly captured the delight and wonder of such a fabulous place! Seeing your photos was like reading an issue of National Geographic magazine. Thank you!

Best Regards,
Nik

Edited to add: I just now noticed in the school photo that all the boys are on the right and girls are on the left side of the photo. Is that normal to separate them?

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Huh, I thought it was a National Geo article! The first girl is beyond beautiful - those eyes say it all. Fantastic job on these David and thanks for sharing.

 

[PaphMadMan]

Many thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos and stories of the people of Nepal. A handsome people, and that first girl is a stunning young beauty.

 

[emydura]

David,

Edited to add: I just now noticed in the school photo that all the boys are on the right and girls are on the left side of the photo. Is that normal to separate them?

I'm not sure about that. You would think so as it hardly seems random. There are a few boys on the left as there were no seats remaining on the right. I'll find out if that is normal. That was a great experience going to that school. The kids were so excited to see us. We told them a bit about Australia and showed them on there map where we were from.

David

 

[emydura]

The first girl is beyond beautiful - those eyes say it all.

Yes, it left me breathless when I first saw it and still does. That is why I printed it out. She was washing dishes next to a tap late in the day so the light was nice and soft. I was actually photographing her bothers near her but I really wanted to photograph her as I could see how incredibly striking she was. I asked her could I take a photograph of her. Unlike the other kids she wasn't throwing her self at me but said yes just the same. I think this is why the expession on her face is so perfect - just totally natural.

I didn't know a lot about what makes a good portrait photograph when taking these but I have read up a bit since. This one is bit by the textbook. Shoulder leaning forward, head looking over the shoulder, head slightly tilted so one eye is higher than the other. All this combined with an exquisite look. I like the hair running over the eye, nose and mouth as well. The 2nd photo of the young boy is similar and another one I really like.

David

 

[Yoyo_Jo]

Beautiful photographs. And I agree with the others, worthy of National Geographic :clap:

 

[Leo Schordje]

Really beautiful photos David. Thank you. I love the changes in the way the women dress (esp. necklaces & facial jewelry) as you walked from one village to another.

 

[Clark]

Your photos are amazing!

 

[Scooby5757]

Great photos! I enjoyed them so much last night i shared them with friends working at studio last night. Everyone loved them and enjoyed the window to Nepal. Excellent work! :clap:

(Everyone noted there was no marijuana growing next to our classroom/building)

 

[SlipperFan]

Beautiful faces captured so naturally. That's not easy to do. Thanks for sharing these!