Circular Train, Yangon, Myanmar
A young boy looks through the window during a journey on the circular train, Yangon, Myanmar.
Travel Photography: Working in the Paddy Fields of Bhutan
I was in Bhutan last month photographing its cultural heritage and the lives of its people. During the fourth day of my week-long trip, I had a chance to visit a small village surrounded by paddy fields in a wide mountain valley. Walking through the fields and enjoying the salubrious mountain weather, I struck conversation with the women working in the fields with an intent to understand the work they were doing and also make photographs in the process.
The month of May is a transition period between harvesting and sowing new crop. There were sections of the fields where a full-grown crop was waiting to be harvested, and at some places, they were already taking the winnowed crop home. The women I spoke to were a step further ahead preparing for the next season, spreading manure in the soil before the upcoming monsoons allowed them to plant fresh saplings. They were friendly, and were more than willing to be photographed, except that they posed a condition: I must give them prints of the photos that I made. I gladly agreed and we were on a roll.