Beauty, hidden in the veil.

Chanced encounter, reveals it.

“Look”, what an attitude!

“Smile”, a sense of cooperation!

                                                        Now was the moment.

Mesmerized by their bright colored dresses and eye catching jewelry, I was cautious not to offend them.

This is the family of a Muslim potters tribe in a village of Rajasthan, India. Their ancestors migrated from Sindh in Pakistan. Being veiled, not in the typical Islamic but the Hindu style, I was appreciating them from a distance, when one of them smiled through her veil. The ice was broken and I had received the right to advance. She dropped her veil, revealing her face. I photographed her with her veiled companions in the background, consciously limiting to only show half the face.

I cautiously stepped through the door into their home courtyard and in a corner was standing another unveiled lady. Her confident look was an invitation that I could pick the camera.

I wanted to spend a few more moments with the family but they seemed to be in a hurry to catch a bus.

This was a brief encounter with the veiled beauties.

Click first photo below and scroll to view entire series in slide show.