Young Woman + Kanjar Community, Rajasthan, India

Let’s imagine for one minute sitting on a bench on the side of the road, looking into a mirror making sure the presentation is just right. Then imagine one of the countless truck drivers passing by notices and stops. The man then walks over to inquire about certain services. Then let’s imagine that our uncle comes over to agree on the price before we are expected to perform those services in our own home.

This is the reality for this young women, her aunts, her nieces and neighbors. Her community trades in sex, and the women are the products which the men of the community trade. 

Our minute of our imagination is her reality for 1,440 minutes each day.

Etsy 

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School Children + Badminton Rackets, Alwar, Rajasthan, India

This is what I miss about India, the spontaneity. You wake up in the morning with camera in hand and find yourself in the middle of a crowd of children. The Rajasthani landscape is sublime as is the sunshine. Having these images to view decades later is a gift beyond measure.

Etsy 

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Potter Couple, Near Alwar, Rajasthan, India, 2015

During my time with Nirvana Bodhisattva and his team at NIrvanavan Foundation, I was able to venture into the surrounding villages thanks to the guidance of Mukesh Poswal and friends. Many of the young men working with the foundation are from the villages which are home to the students. So walking around with them is like walking around with family.

We happened across this couple at the entrance to one village, and they allowed us to photograph them while they were working. We only exposed a few frames, thanked them and then walked away. That simple moment has lasted however, and as we walked by many times this year they always nodded our way.

I wonder where the creation in his hand is by now, in which home it is being used to hold water. To me this is the magic of these vessels, that they are artifacts made by hand and then used daily within the same region usually.

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Note: These frames were exposed with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/120 mm lens.

Master Tailor + Studio, Alwar, Rajasthan, India, Fall of 2009

It took months to finally wear the pants and shirts that this man made for me with such care. They hung in my closet all the while like articles from a distant past, a connection to the ancestors before him. This wonderful man is descendant from a long line of distinguished tailors, with one of his ancestors depicted in the painting behind him.

His family made clothing for everyone from royalty to the local, general population. Their work has been published in books, and remnants of those times still hung in the shop. He took great pride when he pulled them down from the hangers with a long stick to show me. The stitching was impeccable, the designs timeless. These were the very pieces that his father and grandfather had made.

When it came time to measure me for the proposed job, he smiled and told me that he had already measured me. He rattled the numbers to his son and my friend, Niranjan. Then he went ahead and made my measurements just in case, and the numbers coincided perfectly. The entire time I placed a recorder nearby to remember the moment when this most elegant of men did for me what few will ever experience.

We made his portrait in front of the very desk on which he would make my shirts and pants, the very desk on which his ancestors had worked. He stood with his tools nearby and allowed me to make twelve exposures. After which we had tea and biscuits.

Then Niranjan and I walked downstairs and into the street to find the fabric for the clothing. We walked a block or so to the store his father had sent us. The service provided was incredible in that they would pull any fabric down for us to see, without hurrying us at all. We selected four colors for the pants and the same number for the shirts.

My time with Nirvanavan Foundation was nearing its end in a day or so, so we made plans to meet after my work with Humana People to People India ended in order to make the exchange. When I did meet Niranjan for my clothes, they were prepared so beautifully in boxes, folded neatly and with the utmost respect. I remember placing them into my luggage and hoping that nothing terrible would happen to them during transport.

For the first time on my way back from my travels something more important than my camera equipment sat in the luggage. Today I wear this clothing with more ease, yet every time I need to take them to the local dry cleaner my heart skips a beat. I do look forward to another visit to India and to another fitting by the Master, an honor always to be remembered.

Child + Sex Trade, Nirvanavan Foundation, Alwar, Rajasthan, November 26, 2013

Most seeing portraits of the young girls in in my work from India think that they are boys, due to their short hair. This just so happens to be one of my favorite features, and makes for incredibly powerful portraits.

This specific one was made with Nirvana and his wonderful team at Nirvanavan Foundation. This was the fifth roll made on November 26 of 2013, while the team guided me through the villages in which they work. The foundation has set up schools for the children of the Nat and Kanjar Communities, in which traditional prostitution unfortunately thrives.

These very girls see on a daily basis the tragedy of the sex trade, watch their older sisters being sold by the men in their own families. Without the foundation this would be the only possibility for them as well. Nirvana and his team are doing the best that they can to present an alternative, and do so every single day without exception.

I admire and respect the path that they have chosen to walk, and hope to be there in the very near future alongside these incredible people.

www.halimina.org

Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Parents, Nirvana, Advaita Garden, Alwar, Rajasthan, India, November, 2013

We stepped out of the truck after a day of photography and were greeted by Nirvana Bodhisattva's parents. They were sitting in front of Advaita Garden and enjoying the setting sun. Quickly the camera was removed from the bag and set on the tripod. This is the result of that moment.

Nirvana leads an incredible team at Nirvanavan Foundation, and provides services to the surrounding villages as well as the communities of the Kanjar and Nat. These communities exclusively make a living from the sex trade, and place their girls on small benches in front of their homes for sale to the passing traffic.

For more information about the good work being accomplished in and around Alwar, Rajasthan please follow the link provided.

Nirvanavan Foundation
Halim Ina Photography

Advaita + Student, Khar Bas Slum, Alwar, Rajasthan, India, Over the Last Three Months

While my experience with these young girls is firsthand, sometimes those viewing them have very little to go on other than the expressions, the surroundings. In this case, we have a story to go along with them. In my dear friend's words:

'Halim Ina had brought with him Friendship Bands made by a little girl in America for the girls of Bodhivriksha schools. A few bands were tied to girls at the Khar Bas slum by Advaita Roy Verma. Today Advaita took her time from school to visit the Dhobhi ghatta school to tie the bands. Advaita will be visiting the Bodhivriksha schools from time to time to tie the band that were sent with so much love and care.'

I take very little credit for this act other than carrying the bracelets with me, but accept Nirvana's kind words with humility. The  black and white image was made three months ago during my time in Rajasthan, and the color image was just made this week, both of the same girl!

www.halimina.org

Hawa + Girls, Kanjar Community, Sex Trade, Nirvanavan Foundation, Alwar, Rajasthan, India, November, 2013

I returned to Alwar last November and worked with the wonderful Nirvanavan Foundation, under the leadership of my friend Nirvana. We visited four schools in total and talked about the existing hostel and the possibility of two more for the Kanjar Villages. Here my dear friend Hawa sits with the girls of one of these villages, and does what few in my experiences here have done… truly give himself to the photography… proud to have spent this time with all of these girls and the foundation.

Nirvanavan Foundation works in 12 Kanjar and Nat Villages, communities engaged in traditional prostitution. The girls are either sent off to the bigger cities or work with the outlying villages, providing their services as managed by the men in their communities. It is a hard reality to witness and an infinitely more cruel reality for them.

The young girls in this image face such a world on a daily basis, yet the foundation works with the premise that providing an education will someday soon produce the changes necessary to end such a practice for these girls. Perhaps that change will come for them, perhaps for their girls. Only time will tell.

www.halimina.org
www.nirvanavan.org.uk

Note: This image was made with a hand-held Sony RX100M2, edited for size only.

Girl + Student, Nirvanavan Foundation, Slum, Alwar, Rajasthan, November, 2013

While in Rajasthan I was fortunate enough to once again visit the good works of Nirvanavan Foundation through my dear friend, Nirvana Bodhisattva. We began with a school located in one of the many slums of Alwar, a school visited four years ago as well.

The classroom has since been moved to a beautifully decorated building, and now classes are being held indoor as well as outside next to the small temple. Two teachers are responsible for this small school, and their enthusiasm is consistent with the team on a whole, a testament to the leadership as well as to the volunteers working daily to improve the lives of their comrades.

I remember this little girl from many years ago, as she sat for her portrait on the ledge of that first school. She was so tiny then, but her eyes have always had this incredible presence in front of the lens. This morning we sat down for some informal portraits in the classroom, with light coming into the room from a window to her left. She was barely able to hide her excitement, her happiness. This is what drives the work, this is the purpose behind the images.

www.halimina.org
www.nirvanavan.org.uk

Girl + Student, Nirvanavan Foundation, Village near Alwar, Rajasthan, November 16, 2013

She walks miles to this classroom every day along with children from the surrounding villages. Lines of children walk with determination and need very little external motivation. They sit most attentively for their lessons, and the level of respect shown to their teachers is palpable even from a distance.

Two days were spent photographing the students at Advaita Garden, the main school of Nirvanavan Foundation. Over 250 students from five villages attend this exquisite school and benefit from a most dedicated group of people. On any day one can find artists from around the world visiting the premises and sharing their vision with the students for example. 

The students drawings hang all around her in this classroom alone, while livestock is kept on the premise to supply the children with milk and the guests with Indian style tea. A wonderful cook attends to the kitchen and others take on tasks such as planting trees, carrying for the livestock and the transportation of the many guests visiting the site.

I have visited this space since 2007 and have been deeply impressed with the progress made each year. I look forward to this year's work with them, and to the images resulting from our collaboration. The hope is that the images will raise awareness and funding for three hostels planned for 2014.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Young Girl, Nat Community, Near Alwar, Rajasthan, November 5, 2009

She belongs to the Nat Community and lives near Alwar, Rajasthan. In this community prostitution is the only trade, and girls are sold by their own families to the local villages in exchange for their services. Brothers sit alongside sisters on the side of highways awaiting customers. The very people ignoring them during their daily routines then turn to them in their time of sexual need.

She knows nothing else even though her ancestors were something else entirely different: traveling performers. They traveled between villages and performed for everyone from peasants to royalty. The girls for example would walk on a tightrope while the men accompanied them with music. Remnants of this were still visible during my visit, as one young girl walked on a tightrope after our photography. Nirvanavan Foundation is helping to change this reality through their good works, and through their involvement in this community.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Young Girl, Nirvanavan Foundation, Hajipur, Rajasthan, India, November 19, 2008

The portrait was made on November 19, 2008, on the 15th roll of film exposed during the day. We worked near the main school founded by Nirvanavan Foundation, and within the three villages surrounding it. The school is home to over 400 students as of this blog entry, and has official standing within the government framework of elementary schools.

The foundation is doing incredible work within this region, providing quality education to an area otherwise void of such. The children show up every morning for classes filled with enthusiasm. They walk kilometers for the opportunity and show up without breaking a sweat. Almost all have a uniform which they display proudly, and take care of meticulously.

When they return to their homes they return to their chores seamlessly. Watching girls going for water only a few hours after reciting lessons at Advaita Garden was most enlightening and demonstrated the adversity these children face on a daily basis.

Only with the grace of Nirvana and his foundation was I able to walk within these villages freely and photograph with ease. Everyone greeted me with kindness and respect. Whenever we wanted to put our tripod down and work we were allowed. Children followed us everywhere and this made me quite happy. Their enthusiasm and curiosity showed me the best of humanity and were instrumental in helping make the most genuine of portraits.

Happenstance is how this foundation was introduced to me, on my last day while working with Humana People to People just an hour or so away. While it has been a few years since my collaboration with Nirvanavan Foundation, I look forward to a visit later this year and perhaps even some photography.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Young Girl, Community of Prostitution, Nirvanavan Foundation, Near Alwar, Rajasthan, October 29, 2009

Working with Nirvana and his wonderful team at Nirvanavan Foundation has provided me insight otherwise unattainable. Through their good works I have been introduced to a world otherwise unbelievable. In these villages exists the world of the sex trade unlike any other, where the girls are sold in the open by their families... and the only crop grown is that of the flesh.

Over a span of three years we worked diligently, documenting almost every single child under their supervision in roughly a dozen villages. The foundation has done well to introduce itself and the idea of education to the adults in these villages, and the communities have come to accept them wholeheartedly. In some they have provided shelter for the classes, while in others sessions are held under the shade of a tree. 

Because of my association with Nirvanavan Foundation, the villagers allowed me to photograph their girls, risking the possibility of media exposure in the meantime. They permitted us to work at our own leisure, never once interrupting our sessions. As they became more familiar with the work, some of the older women presented themselves as well.

In this village we entered for the first time with the idea of photography. Nirvana and his team spoke with the villagers and all agreed in a kind manner to allow our work. It was the early afternoon and we needed to wait a bit before beginning. The open courtyard was perfect and contained one white wall, as well as some paneling for the color images.

As the sun set, we were about to begin when a group of officials strolled into our space. To my untrained eye they were police officers, with official uniforms. To those more familiar with the scene, they were participants in the transaction, checking out the guests and making sure that any activity is within their circle of knowledge.

They talked with the adults for a little bit, asked a few questions about the camera, and walked away as smoothly as they crept in. To my dismay they failed to notice the red light on top of the video camera, and the entire conversation was recorded.

I look back at these times and wish that I had done certain things differently, but hope that one day soon I may return to help document the work in another manner. I admire these young girls, for they are able to survive in the midst of the sex trade. They see their sisters being sold, their uncles negotiating the prices in the open. At the same time the fire within each and every single one has never been put out. 

My imagination fails to provide me with a picture of the darker times. My experiences cannot prepare me for such. I try to imagine this young girl's future, when she turns a certain age and is groomed for an endless line of men. All around me during my time with these villages were the older versions of this beautiful girl, all engaged in the world of prostitution. Never a single one of them let her guard down, nor did a single one show me one sign of weakness, of sadness.

I will never know this world from their viewpoint, but hope that one day the men of this world will wake up and realize the wrongs perpetuated over generations on the feminine half. Only when that day comes will the need for such girls be extinguished. I know that I will never see this day, and am impressed even more so by the resolute path this foundation has taken. They have seen much more than I have yet they move forward without flinching. I salute them and their good works, and hope to continue my association with Nirvanavan Foundation.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Father of Niranjan, Tailor in a Long Line of Tailors, Alwar, Rajasthan, November of 2009

It took months to finally wear the pants and shirts that this man made for me with such care. They hung in my closet all the while like articles from a distant past, a connection to the ancestors before him. This wonderful man is descendant from a long line of distinguished tailors, with one of his ancestors depicted in the painting behind him.

His family made clothing for everyone from royalty to the local, general population. Their work has been published in books, and remnants of those times still hung in the shop. He took great pride when he pulled them down from the hangers with a long stick to show me. The stitching was impeccable, the designs timeless. These were the very pieces that his father and grandfather had made.

When it came time to measure me for the proposed job, he smiled and told me that he had already measured me. He rattled the numbers to his son and my friend, Niranjan. Then he went ahead and made my measurements just in case, and the numbers coincided perfectly. The entire time I placed a recorder nearby to remember the moment when this most elegant of men did for me what few will ever experience.

We made his portrait in front of the very desk on which he would make my shirts and pants, the very desk on which his ancestors had worked. He stood with his tools nearby and allowed me to make twelve exposures. After which we had tea and biscuits.

Then Niranjan and I walked downstairs and into the street to find the fabric for the clothing. We walked a block or so to the store his father had sent us. The service provided was incredible in that they would pull any fabric down for us to see, without hurrying us at all. We selected four colors for the pants and the same number for the shirts.

My time with Nirvanavan Foundation was nearing its end in a day or so, so we made plans to meet after my work with Humana People to People India ended in order to make the exchange. When I did meet Niranjan for my clothes, they were prepared so beautifully in boxes, folded neatly and with the utmost respect. I remember placing them into my luggage and hoping that nothing terrible would happen to them during transport.

For the first time on my way back from my travels something more important than my camera equipment sat in the luggage. Today I wear this clothing with more ease, yet every time I need to take them to the local dry cleaner my heart skips a beat. I do look forward to another visit to India and to another fitting by the Master, an honor always to be remembered.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography