Rabari Girl
Gujarat, India 2009
She stands in front of her family’s hut or bunga. The colorful designs on the wall of the hut (that I faded to enhance the bright colors of her dress) were painted by her mother, a skill that this Rabari tribe’s women take pride in. The walls on the inside of the home glittered from the many small mirrors set into the raised plaster decoration.
In reality, her dress was not this bright. It was colorful, but it was faded a bit and dusty. It was her everyday dress, after all. She played and worked in it and maybe slept in it. She was a shy girl or seemed shy when her friend came to look at us. Her friend was older and the shy girl seemed to defer to her.
She was pleased when I asked her to pose. She hadn’t been expecting that. Her expression has a tinge of amazement. She has long forgotten me, but I remember her.