~ Kumari ~, a photo from Bagmati, Central

Photographer's Note

Kumari Devi or the Living Goddess of Nepal is a unique tradition i.e worshiping young pre-pubescent girls which is believed to be the incarnation of Goddess Durga, the protectorate deity of Kathmandu valley. As the name suggest the living Goddess is a virgin and the real goddess dwell in her body & stay till she reaches her pubescent or bleeds by any reason. The process of selection of new Kumari takes place which resembles that of the Tibetan lamas who are believed to be reincarnations of their predecessors.

She was one of many contenders for would be Kumari Devi and that's the hand of a well wisher usually a family member. Taken at the House of Living Goddess or Kumari Bahal, Durbar Square. Kathmandu. The colourful costumes and the festive atmosphere made it even more fun to shoot, of course with due respect to local culture by keeping an appropriate distance and behave in a respectful manner.

Call it faith, belief or orthodox, whatever you might accept it as, its actually very fascinating aspect of Nepalese spiritual life and tradition.

Setting: 122 mm, 1/60 sec, F4.2, ISO Raw 200, 1210 hrs

Fis2, jean113, PiotrF, adramad, COSTANTINO, ktanska has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (146942) 2020-03-26 3:33

Witaj Abmdsudi!
A very beautiful outfit, I love it.
Excellent framing, colors and depth.
Another curious face and beautiful portrait.
Well done.
Nice afternoon.
Krzysztof

pajaran (95457) 2020-03-26 6:47

Pozdrav.
Lep pogled, interesantan tekst ...
Lepa deca i ukrasi.
Lepo pokazano, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
Lepa tradicija.
Zelim vam lepo popodne, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
Nice view, interesting text ...
Beautiful children and decorations.
Beautifully shown, well captured moment.
Nice tradition.
Have a nice afternoon, all the best.

rychem (70045) 2020-03-26 8:51

A little beauty! Interesting tradition, beautiful portrait showing concentration on the face of this girl
regards Ryszard

everlasting (17096) 2020-03-26 12:32

I love the concentration on her face with her tongue poking from the corner, The light must have been difficult but you have made a good job of it. A fine example of this interesting tradition.,

jean113 (17507) 2020-03-26 14:39

Hello Abmdsudi,
An excellent portrait of the young girl with the presence of another girl in the slightly out of focus background. It gives us a sense of what is happening.
It is a very colourful picture.
The girl's expression, her concentration are beautiful.
A very informative note, thanks.
Kind regards, Jean.

PiotrF (46330) 2020-03-26 17:36

Hello Abmdsudi
An interesting portrait.
The exposure, colours and sharpness are perfect.
Fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

Nicou (192736) 2020-03-26 21:26

Hello

elle sort sa petite langue rose superbe portrait et visage de cet enfant quel habillement quelle coiffure et décoration sur la tête et ce bras cette main fantastique
Bravo et amitié
Nciou

emka (143622) 2020-03-26 21:47

Hello Abmdsudi,

Cute girls taking part in the ceremony. Excellent composition. Nice expressions of the girls.

Stay home :)
Best regards MAlgo

CLODO (43438) 2020-03-27 0:00

Hi Abmdsudi

Lovely colors for the dress and make-up, she seems very concentrated on her work or maybe listening to the adult who is giving her some advice about her writing. Very good framing and camera setting to get the second young girl blurred and so focusing our attention on the bit of tongue!
Take care
CLODO

jemaflor (128589) 2020-03-27 0:42

Hi A,
Interesting and well made portrait, perfect sharpness, nice clothes, well composed with the position of the hand, interesting look, tfs.

Silvio1953 (195904) 2020-03-27 1:39

Ciao Abmdsudi, great portrait of lovely Young girls, good perspective, wonderful colors, splendid light, fine details and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

adramad (63472) 2020-03-27 10:27

Hello Abmdsudi.
A nice ceremony the choice of the Kumari, a very pretty girl, the costumes suits are very rich and beautiful. Great quality of the portrait.
Sharpness, lighting, color, and the magnificent composition; they are all perfectly made factors, in this beautiful image.
Well done. I like very much.
You have a good day.
Very best regards.
Luis.

COSTANTINO (96789) 2020-03-27 10:52

Hello dear friend and have a nice time
and a happy weekend
original version
no comments for this young queen...
one shot is one thousand
words
regards
Costantino

ktanska (37327) 2020-03-29 4:21

Hi Abmdsudi,
Impressive portrait of this special moment. The foreground girl obviously concentrates perfectly on the occasion. Excellent tight framing and perfect focus.
Kari