Young Girl, Student, Banganga, Rajasthan, India, Humana People to People, November 20, 2009

From the note on this roll of film, this portrait is the first negative from the 24th roll of film on November 20, 2009. She is dressed in her school uniform, has her portrait made in front of the teacher's home. Ten girls or so stand to her left only a few feet away and perhaps a dozen students and bystanders are to her right. Behind her is a white sheet stretched over a bench.

The teacher of this school is also the owner of this house, along of course with her husband. They are of the highest caste yet do almost all of the work themselves, from plowing the fields to the irrigation.

The teacher has a sister whose house is but a few meters away. Together they have considerable land and respect among the rest of the villagers. Instead of having others do the work, the two husbands work from sunrise to sunset. In all of my visits, four up to this year, I have never seen either husband sitting down upon arrival; they are always at work in the field.

Every time we arrive on this spot, both women and their daughters prepare two sets of tea for us, one from each family. Every time we have a meal, both families prepare a meal for us and sit down to watch us with smiles trying to finish both meals.

This is her fourth portrait in as many years. This session lasts for over two hours yet she and her girlfriends are able to maintain their composure for that length of time without hesitation.

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