A Photo Essay

Written by Sonam Chhomo

The photo was taken in 1983/1984 in Kullu College, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. I saw this photo in my mother’s picture album in Kullu. This photo reminds me of the changing times. The landscape and the river that flows by in the photo cannot be seen easily in the present time. Road development projects have almost cleared the forest cover, and new buildings and fences have drawn a boundary between nature and students. The students (and alumni) can no longer access the darya (river side).

The woman in the picture is my mother’s college friend who she is no longer in contact with. When I asked my mom about her, she said, “I don’t know where or how she is.” Their friendship is contained in that moment of capturing the photo and the album that my mother has in her possession. Remembering someone’s presence in their life is dependent on the photographs one takes. It reminds us that our forgetfulness is a human nature whereas parting ways with someone due to lack of interaction is an act of fear.

She is wearing a gonche, the traditional attire of Lahaul and Spiti. Specifically, the attire consists of namgya (tight-fitting ankle length lower) and basket (outerwear half-jacket). Women also wear tivi (head cap) or gundu (scarf) based on preference and severity of cold. This attire is worn like an everyday wear, that’s why we don’t see the traditional jewellery and headwear. Even though the variations of the attire occur in the Western Himalayas of Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti, you can still see the raw form of nature that used to cover most places in Kullu.