Photographs by Soraj Shahi

Production pictures taken by our wonderful production manager, Soraj Shahi. Aside from being our indispensable fixer, Soraj takes beautiful photos so I thought I would share some of them. These were all taken during this second shooting period in March.

Day 5: Back in the Bazaar

I am writing from Jumla Bazaar which is the only ‘town’ here in Jumla and the only place with internet. We are here for two nights to recharge (batteries, computers, phones, toothbrushes) and download everything and have an ‘office day’. Tomorrow we return to Urthu-Chautara where we will spend the bulk of our time on this shoot as that is where we have the most connections and where my Jumli family is.

I keep losing track of how many days we’ve been here. In some ways it feels like we never left. We arrived five days ago. Our ‘direct’ flight - stopping in Nepalganj to refuel as I presume it was too cloudy to stop in Pokhara - was only three hours late, which is pretty good by Nepali standards. At least we arrived on the right day. It was somewhat of a bumpy ride and it seemed that some of the passengers may not have been that accustomed to turbulence so a lot of praying and vomiting was going on. The woman with the baby next to Sophie just went to sleep on her so poor Soph didn’t have the most comfy journey either.

the pilot fumbling, trying to open a packet of biscuits en route

The plan was to get the jeep straight to Litakot in Tatopani (I’ll be posting a map of Jumla soon) and as it was getting towards dusk we didn’t dilly-dally too long over our tea and biscuits, but we had wanted to at least spend a few minutes with our friends who had come to greet us. We were making good time until we got stuck behind a truck with a flat tire blocking the road. Ke garné? (means ‘what to do?’ in Nepali). By the time it occurred to someone that the tractor stuck behind the truck could push the disabled vehicle out of the way, there had been at least half an hour of animated discussion by the assembled crowd. It was dark by the time we reached Litakot but we were still greeted with green garlands made of young barley and tikas and a big enough crowd to help us haul our multitude of bags and cases to our rooms down the path.

Litakot is nestled on a hillside looking down a wide valley towards the Patarasi mountain range. It really is incredibly beautiful and interesting to see how different it looks at this time of year. The fields that were patterned with dung piles when we left in November now have a sprinkling of green as the barley is beginning to grow. In a few months it will be a sea of shimmering gold.

We spent four days shooting in three villages going back to see the women we met last time, seeing their homes, shops or tea houses and meeting their families. We are definitely getting deeper into the project now as people know us so they are more comfortable in front of the camera and feel more confident to talk about more intimate things – at which point we get Soraj to discreetly leave us ‘girls’ alone.

Litakot is a village in Tatopani VDC (village development committee - which is essentially a borough) within the district of Jumla. In some ways it feels so different than Urth-Chautara because of the landscape, but it is still quintessentially Jumla.

The production team - myself, Sophie, Soraj and Nisha is like a well-oiled machine now. We all get along wonderfully and truly enjoy our time together. And between Soraj and Nisha, all we could possibly need taken care of is usually done before we can even finish our sentences.

Sophie, Nisha & Soraj - the best production team I could ever have

I am so grateful to all of them for their hard work and spirited support – we all understand that we are making something not only visually beautiful, but also important for the development of the region. Aside from sharing the beauty of Jumla with the world we are also raising questions in the minds of men and women about their culture and society and we have seen that it has already had an impact in the way they view their lives. And we are less than half-way through. I can’t wait to get back to Chautara to see everyone and continue on our journey of exploration into this magical place. Of course, I am completely biased but Jumla is a very special place and we have the footage to prove it!