A Place in india, 1993

Edneer is the name of a rural area in southern India where cultural traditions are the norm. Modern-day amenities are present but not prevalent and cosmopolitan fashion is seen only in the college girls who have dared to be different. This place is dotted with tiny houses and covered with lush green rice paddies, palm trees and rolling hills. The village itself consists of a city-block size dirt road lined with thatch hut businesses and a school. At the end of the road is the Mutt, a Hindu temple, where a monk named Swamiji lives and worships.

Each day at dawn, when only the cows are wandering about, amplified music comes from the Mutt. As the sun rises, the residents begin their daily routines.

This work is a documentation, encompassing family life, schooling, occupations, special holidays, observances, ceremonies and events, religions, and ongoing daily life. It is formulated to help viewers understand and relate to the varying, yet similar lifestyles of children and families cross-culturally. Given the dramatic socioeconomic, political and historical changes that are taking place in our world today, this documentary is meant to expand awareness and understanding of a culture in transition.

These photographs were taken over a two-month time period in 1993 in the state of Kerala.