This past Spring my time in India had taken a new path... landscape photography mixed with environmental portraits of various communities. We headed into western portion of Rajasthan, right on the border with Pakistan. One of the circles we had been blessed to document this week was the Langha Community, famous for their customs and their musical talents.
As a matter of fact, our host showed me four expired passports, all filled on almost every page with visas and entries to various countries around the world. They immediately took us in yesterday and allowed us to stay the night, performing for us both yesterday and today. We sat down with them and exchanged stories, and our hopes as well.
This is a Muslim community which also happens to play music, sing and dance. The boys and men are the ones to do such, while the girls attend school up to fifth class and no more. This is the story of one of the villages within the Langha Community, as other villages may certainly vary regarding these details. We will present this village and our thoughts to this FB circle in the near future, as we believe a small investment will yield incredible results for this community.
This is the daughter of our host, as she allowed us to make her portrait this morning against the backdrop of the Rajasthani desert. The environment in which they live is both stunning and quite harsh. On a daily basis winds blow over the mounds of sand behind her, bringing endless amounts of sand into her home and her lungs. It is an extremely difficult life, almost unimaginable for so many of us.
We hope that perhaps a sewing class, with a dozen machines, will allow the girls and young women to attain a skill set which can then be used to make clothing both for the local and for the global market... details to be shared soon!
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