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Fence of destiny


In our journey from Kargil to Padum (Zanskar, India), we took a night break at the only guest house, managed by J&K Tourism at village Parkachik. It’s a region, nested in the fertile valley of Nun-Kun mountain, a mile from the majestic ice mass, called the Parkachik glacier. The villagers are of Balti origin, a tribe from Skardu (Baltistan) region, which now lies in Pakistan.


The facilities at the guest house were minimal but far exceeded our expectation. After a long journey, as we sat outside the guest house, sipping the freshly brewed Kashmiri Kahwa (Tea), we became an object of curiosity for a Balti father and his daughter, who peered at us through the fence.


Sheer beauty of the child was captivating and the father’s eyes bore an equally interesting testimony of passage of time. As the duo stared at us through the fence, it reminded of the transition from innocence of childhood to the piercing impressions of old age, an experience to be lived within the restrictions created by the “FENCE” of destiny.

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Photo : A Balti child at Parkachik village.

 

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 Photo : A Balti father at Parkachik village.

Comments(21)

  1. Reply
    Aniruddha Deshpande says:

    Haunting. Very cool.

  2. Reply
    Charu says:

    Beautiful – this girl’s photo, particularly eyes are riveting. You will be giving Steve McCurry a run for his money!

  3. Reply
    Atul Todi says:

    Wow!! Thats awesome!! Hope to see ur work on National Geographic frontpage

  4. Reply
    Harawant Singh says:

    Beautiful shots.

    Alas there are the beautiful eyes but there is also a cataract eye. The wonders of Wahuguruji.

  5. Reply
    Mohindra Chadha says:

    Excellent Photographs of a girl with such beautiful eyes and her aging father in the remote area of Zanskar!

  6. Reply
    troy says:

    amazing contrast blend with the unique essence of each soul!

  7. Reply
    adarsh goindi says:

    Wow, indeed its a beautiful picture of a beautiful child, innocence in her eyes, is what I see, and hope is what I read on her father’s face ….its the fence, that explains other aspects……Very appreciative, as always.

  8. Reply
    Salman Rashid says:

    Beautiful limpid eyes of the child. Amardeep, I can see you in the child’s eyes! These two are a very fine mix of Tibetan and Shina (Aryan) blood – so typical of Balti people.

  9. Reply
    Milton D'Silva says:

    Captivating, indeed!

  10. Reply
    M Bugi Bugi says:

    Wonderful areas. Wonderful Capture. Thanks for the Image.

  11. Reply
    Ravi Shankar Nagraj says:

    Amardeep ! A Similar Photo appeared about a Afghani Girl who had vanished for years and was finally found only becoz of her eyes, that picture has been doing the rounds on internet for years!! I have that pic also in my archive!

  12. Reply
    Arnab Saha says:

    Captivating!

  13. Reply
    Harbhaksh Grewal says:

    Echoes of Steve McCurry.

  14. Reply
    yogi says:

    Grt photography!
    Wonders of DNA. A feature on that aspect would be grt!

  15. Reply
    Dhruv Jolly says:

    Just Beautiful … Dada … The Eyes … Haunting …

  16. Reply
    Surupa Chatterjee says:

    The language of the eyes….curious,captivating and beautiful ….

  17. Reply
    Dhaval Deshpande says:

    Beautiful captivating and innocent eyes totally ignorant about the future hardships and turmoils it may face due to tensions between the two neighbouring countries.inspite of it the eyes reflects a ray of hope for brighter and peaceful future!!!

  18. Reply
    amarjeet kaur says:

    Very fine captures.I can actually see your image in child’s eyes.Secondly there are innocence,stranger thinking,differences between social appearance and the most looking QUESTIONS in both’s ( girl and father’ eyes) …………very impressive eyes …GOD gave them to take shots by you only.

  19. Reply
    Harpreet Singh says:

    Super cool

  20. Reply
    Karamjeet Singh says:

    Nice pictures supported by a nice thought on father and daughter destiny.But one thing is common to both ‘Curiosity’ could be you,could be the lens.Best thing is you captured the expression at the right moment.Good Luck!

  21. Reply
    kishore kumar biswas says:

    Eyes speak soul. here the child’s eyes speak the purity of her soul.There is unfathomable expression. To read those eyes one needs to be near nature and folk-life,which we lack generally. The girl belongs to a tribe which lives a life in a traditional way that is beyond the changes occurred in present human society. It depends upon more on nature than on gadgets. machine dose not yet dominate their life. They are still the children of earth.they remind us what we lost for ever , the natural innocence.
    Amardeep being compassionate to human life brought the intricate beauty of it in front of us through his mesmerizing photograph.
    Thanks to him.

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