Shikhar Bhattarai Photographer - Portfolio

SHIKHAR BHATTARAI Photographer

www.shikharbhattarai.com bhattarai.shikhar@gmail.com

The other side of Annapurna (in progress)

STORIES

Being an avid traveller I have been on many trekking routes around Nepal. When you travel as a trekker you tend to view life through the lens of the trekking season—everything is presented to you as one traveller among the thousands of tourists from all over the world who walk these routes each year. You tend to meet those who are in the tourism industry and miss the nuances of life in the small villages along the trekking routes. The Annapurna circuit is one of the more popular trekking routes in Nepal. Having walked this route a few times I have always wondered what life is like beyond the window of the trekking season. This project started with that curiosity.

The village of Marpha, the setting of my project, is one of the many villages that one comes across on the Annapurna Circuit and the work represents my attempt to understand the people, their co-existence with the landscape, and reflect on the quietude and subtlety of the rhythm of life on the other side of the mountains.

While the beauty of the village, the landscape and the people is unquestionable, there is also a sense of emptiness about the place.

Not only because you encounter far fewer people here than the village is capable of holding: Changes that have occurred in recent years have meant that many of the young and able-bodied have left the village to live and work in more urbanized parts of the country; but also because those who are left behind have a far away look on their faces, as if they too would like to escape the slow pace of life in the village.

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. .work produced in 2012.

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 Cleaner of Nepal Laxman Singh Khadka

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. .work produced in 2011.

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.�

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.

Laxman Singh Khadka breaks into an imromptu 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.

The white kurta is his trademark, his public face. He says he has 300 such kurtas made for differ- ent 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 to the streets, he returns home only by 8 at night. By the time he washes dishes and prepares “Dal bhat�, its already 11 before he goes to bed. He dreams of being a prime minister someday.

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