Hima - A story of a little girl.

HIMA

Hima, now 10, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one after her family sensed something was wrong with her. Her condition was termed “developmental delay” which meant she could not develop in the same way as other kids of her age.  She was admitted to many schools as a child but a special school was finally found for her when she was five. She was admitted to SEID Trust, an NGO / school on September 2006.  The NGO works with children similar to Hima, and specifically targets marginalized sectors of society. After joining the school she was diagnosed with multiple disabilities as well as symptoms of autism.

The school also provides physiotherapy sessions and medication to the children. “After a little over five years here, her physical condition is almost normal now”, explains her brother, Johnny, who decided to work in the school a few years after Himas’s admission. That way he could be in contact with his sister and monitor her progress.

The story is about Hima, her struggle and the strong bond the brother and sister have developed over time.

Hima wraps a scarf around her face to scare her brother.

Her home, a rented space, doesn’t have many windows. During a regular power cut Hima lifts the curtain 

of her room to let the light in.

“The first thing that Hima does when I come home is take my mobile to listen to songs,” says Johnny.

The school also provides a rickshaw that is used to transport children back and forth between home and school.

 “If I have to work in life why not work here and help these children,” says Johnny when asked why 

he decided to work in the school. Every child in the school loves Johnny bhai.

Hima at a park. As part of the annual program the school takes the children and their guardians to the zoo for a picnic.

Hima loves watching TV and listening to songs more than anything else. When at home she spends most of her time watching TV.

 Hima falls asleep as Johnny watches TV.

 The story was produced in Dhaka, Bangladesh during an International Reportage Workshop between photo.circle in Nepal, Pathshala Bangladesh and Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway.

The story was also published on The Week, Republica, a national daily in Nepal on 30th March 2012. Virtual Newspaper here (center spread).

 

hareRama hareKrishna

I was part of an International Reporting Workshop that was held in Sylhet, Bangladesh. We had daily assignments as part of the workshop. The theme for the day was "Religion".

The majority of the population in Bangladesh are Muslim but there are also a significant number of Hindus. Some of my friends decided to go to a Hindu Temple for the shoot. These are some from the day.

Melamchi River

Was browsing through my archives and found this picture of Melamchi River taken back in June 2010.

Melamchi River, Melamchi

The river will be directed to a tunnel which will end up in Kathmandu as part of the big project to quench the thirst of its population.

Kathmandu Valley suffers from a serious Water Crisis.

Old Man's Portrait

Streets

An elderly woman dozes off while selling fruits in Basantapur, Kathmandu.

Old buildings with mud bricks and traditional windows can still be found amidst all the concrete building sprouting up in Kathmandu.

Halloween? Scary masks on display in Kathmandu.

The Cleaner of Nepal - Laxman Singh Khadka

The Cleaner of Nepal

SHIKHAR BHATTARAI

Laxman Singh Khadka styles himself as the Cleaner of Nepal, though many know of him as the Human Banner. “People often think I am a madman,” explains Khadka, who calls himself a social worker. He is to be seen cleaning roads, painting statues of former kings, and giving roadside speeches on the present political situation of the country. He writes political, religious and social slogans on his trademark white kurta, and no national day or major event in Kathmandu would be complete without one of his banners.

It all started for this former truck driver about 18 years ago on the streets of Kathmandu. Being a native of the capital, he has seen the city “develop” right before his eyes. He doesn’t hesitate to share his nostalgia for the glory days of the city. “Kathmandu looked a lot better back then,” he says.

Everyone sees him on the roads but no one knows where and how he really lives. The private life of this father of four is not what many might imagine it to be. This is my attempt to go beyond Laxman Singh Khadka’s life on the streets, into his personal space.

At 63, Laxman Singh Khadka lives a life quite different from what many people would think of living. Although he has a home in Kalanki, he has been living alone in a small hotel room in Sundhara for the last five years.

“My family did not approve of my way of life so I decided to live alone. I don’t blame them for thinking that way, but this is the life that I have chosen for myself.”

Laxman Singh Khadka breaks into an impromptu speech in the middle of directing traffic in front of the Constituent
Assembly in New Baneshwor, as onlookers read the text on his kurta. It is the streets where he has found a place to socialize, share his thoughts, and raise his voice.

Combing his hair, taking a bath, and worshipping the gods are part of a two-hour daily routine before he heads to the streets. He first visits the Martyr’s Gate, then the temple of Bhadrakali, where he feeds the pigeons. He claims to feed the pigeons almost 7 kilos of rice every day.

The white kurta is his trademark, his public face. He says he has 300 such kurtas made for different national and international events. He writes the slogans on a small piece of paper and takes them to a painter to have them transferred to cloth.

Living in a small hotel room doesn’t give him much space. All his belongings are scattered on the other bed in the room.

Once he is out onto the streets, he returns home only by 8 at night. By the time he prepares his dal bhat, washes the dishes, and goes to bed, its already 11. He dreams of becoming a prime minister someday.

The story was part of a 14 week Masterclass with Mads Nissen organized by photo circle in cooperation with Danish School of Media and Journalism (DSMJ). The photos produced during the masterclass by 12 Nepali Photographers also turned into an exhibition and a book titled "The Constant Change".

The book is available at all major bookshops in Kathmandu and online at www.muncha.com/change