I love faces. I love the stories in them. Faces with nervous twitches. Open faces. Stoic faces. Faces that draw you in. Make you think. Shut you out as the distant outsider
And a face with a life written on it. The past leading to the present, intertwined on one face. Telling stories about living through everything. That one wrinkle when she fell very ill. The pursed lips hiding hunger. The curl of the lip when they didn’t get her joke. The wide eyes of a first ever experience. The distant gaze of that faraway thought. The inviting smile of a kindred soul… she tries and hides in her face, behind the eyelid, in that corner… but you still see her.
Her emotions live and breathe in the eyes. And in her eyes.. you always find her.
Here are some of my favourite faces from travels over the last eight years. I remember the city in their eyes and through their eyes. Find your own tale in these faces and tell me about it in a comment.
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Sapna..what do her eyes dream of?
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Cabbie Madhu at Velha Goa – he spoke to me about letting go and learning how to achieve peace and ‘Nirvana!’
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The caretaker at Jhadpoli – he made me work the hardest to get a glimpse of that wide, welcoming smile !
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Heerabai from Purushwadi – she welcomed me right into her kitchen!
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I don’t know his name, he doesn’t know mine. The dreamer on Aiguille de Midi at Chamonix.
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The driver in Bhutan.. we spoke in broken English, sign language and giggles.
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The girl by the river at Purushwadi – she spoke without saying a word.
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The goat herder at Purushwadi – she paused to pose between her shooing and calling out to her herd.
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Girl in pink on Aiguille De Midi. She smiled, grinned, laughed, chirped.
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The bangle seller outside Hawa Mahal, Jaipur. She had a loud, open and welcoming laugh.
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The young boy at Purushwadi.. what does the future hold for him?
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