Friday, October 10, 2014

Student + Seven Years Apart, Rajasthan, India, Humana People to People India, 2006 + 2013


In honor of this year's Nobel Peace Prize recipients this diptych is shared. Once in a while the powers that be do the right thing and have chosen wisely with Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi. By choosing these two incredibly important individuals the committee has shed much needed light on the education of girls, the plight of child laborers and the tragedy of child prostitution the world over.

The young girl below has beaten the odds in her village, and is now enrolled in a local university. She continues to help her family at home while attending classes at the same time. These two images were made seven years apart, yet one can see her irrepressible spirit even at such a tender age.

Although I met her briefly, her name has remained etched in my mind: Rekha. So I looked up its meaning this evening and smiled from ear to ear upon reading the screen.

Rekha, is a Sanskrit word, meaning line. There are various figurative meanings of the name Rekha. Some are:

The written lines of the Vedas --the visual rendering of the text itself—considered sacred and beautiful as the means by which the tradition is preserved.

Lines of light such as the radiance of the sun, moon or the halo of a deity.

She is certainly 'the visual rendering of the text itself!'

The TEDx audience will see her face in two weeks, and hear her story.

www.halimina.org

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