My Work: The Rabari & The Charpoy

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
While in Dasada (in the Little Rann of Kutch) during the The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition ™, we stopped by a small Rabari village to photograph. We fanned out to photograph whatever caught our eye, and whoever was willing to cooperate.

The previous evening at the Rann Riders Resort, we were shown a wonderful book of Olivier Follmi's photographs; some of which were of the area. One photograph in particular caught our attention, and it was of a Rabari shepherd asleep on a traditional rope bed called "charpoy". It was a photograph that I (and others in the group) was determined to imitate, provided I found the necessary rope-bed and a willing and able photogenic Rabari.

I easily found the charpoy, but to convince one of the Rabaris to lay or sit on it taxed my very limited Hindi and my rudimentary sign language. After some insistence (as well as having to literally drag him by the hand) on my part, the chosen Rebari cooperated and played his part...however, feeling self-conscious being watched by some of his fellow villagers, it didn't last very long at all.

Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved
Sharon Johnson-Tennant, one of the group members who was also photographing this recalcitrant Rabari, captured the moment as I showed him the various photographs.

The Rabari tribals live throughout Gujarat, Punjab, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan states in India. Some also live in Pakistan, especially in the Sindh. Their principal occupation is raising cattle, camels and goats.

Charlotte Rush-Bailey: Tribes of Raj & Gujarat

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey- All Rights Reserved
Charlotte Rush-Bailey is the second group member of The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition ™ whose work is being showcased here on TTP.

As demonstrated by her photographs here, and by those on her impressive website, Charlotte's quest to explore the unknown and learn from it has always been with her. Her career covered three decades of marketing and communications positions in a variety of global industries including energy, financial services, media, conservation, technology and professional services. This gave opportunities to work with people all over the world, and to learn to appreciate cultural nuances and the influences of socio-political forces.

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey-All Rights Reserved
This is no idle claim by Charlotte. I saw her engage people in the remote villages of Kutch and in the warrens of the walled city in Ahmedabad with an incredible ease, which led her to have no difficulty obtaining the photographs she wanted.

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey-All Rights Reserved

Charlotte immersed herself in her passion of photography, and attended numerous workshops including those at the Palm Beach Photographic Workshops and Santa Fe Photo Workshops. She traveled to more than 90 countries, with a camera as a constant traveling companion. She believes that it was this that gained her more intimacy with people, places and nature.

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey- All Rights Reserved
Charlotte's statement on her website reads:

"These explorations have enriched my life beyond imagining. Most important is the confirmation that humans – regardless of race, creed or tradition – share core values that far outweigh the differences that are so often the cause of conflict. The importance of family, community and spirituality are universal. Beyond humanity, nature has taught me complete humility and reverence. Nothing we humans do can repeal the laws and forces of nature; nothing we create can compare with the beauty, elegance and resilience of the natural world."

She's absolutely right.

Alessandra Meniconzi: The Roitschäggätä

Photo © Alessandra Meniconzi -All Rights Reserved
Photo © Alessandra Meniconzi -All Rights Reserved
Alessandra Meniconzi's work has graced the pages of The Travel Photographer blog on many occasions, with photographs of far-away and remote areas of the world, however she sent me some of new work made in her back-yard. Yes, literally in her back-yard in Switzerland, although when I first viewed the photographs, I took them to be from Mongolia or even perhaps Papua New guinea.

But not at all...these were made in the villages of the Lötschental valley. It's the largest valley on the northern side of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, which lies in the Bernese Alps.

The masks are worn by the Roitschäggätä, who are unmarried young men from Lötschental villages who hide behind handmade wooden masks and are clad in fur, scaring passersby and playing pranks.

Starting as early as February 2, this tradition has been repeatedly prohibited by the Church, but without much success. The Roitschäggätä roam through the valley on Maundy Thursday, while there is a masked parade in the village of Wiler on the Saturday prior to Ash Wednesday.