Giovanna Fava's profile

Colors of Women in Tamil Nadu

Giovanna Fava
•
The Colors of Women
Tamil Nadu, South Inida
I wasn't a tourist: I lived in Chennai long enough to melt in with the heat and humidity.  When I walked my dog in the morning, it was hard not to take my camera too.  I would take my camera on my daily errands and catch women doing what they have done for hundreds of years, the way they have done it for hundreds of years.  There are all kinds of women in India--the most sophisticated beauties who have more income than you or I--to the rag picker woman who is half-crazed and competes with the dogs for food.  I could only speak a little Tamil and could not have in-depth conversations with most of them, but they spoke to me with their eyes, their smile, their body, their spirit.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Tamil women can be very bold one minute....
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
...and very shy the next minute
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
This lady works as an anganwadi teacher, one of the lowest paid government worker.  Anganwadi teachers find it difficult to get married due to their low status.  But this teacher gives her whole heart to the children.  She went on a special course to learn how to use the puppets for teaching.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
A hard-working student taking a break from her studies
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
This mother will probably teach her daughter how to balance ten bricks on her head to help in the construction site.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Kalakshetra Colony is nearby the beach where women come from all over to learn the traditional South Indian dances.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
A Brahmin housewife
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
These girls were brought up as orphans and are learning a skill, Batick, in order that they may make a living. 
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
The rag-picker with mental challenges is surprised by me.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
The Ladies' Room attendant at the Taj Hotel
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
These women give the children a nutritious snack as the day begins in case they did not get a good breakfast. 
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Sugana is an area leader for the anganwadis--the slum daycare centers.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
The Fourth of July in India is the 15th of August, but it doesn't mean that school girls can walk home in shoes.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Mother with her two daughters at the fishing village.  For each daughter, her family will be required to pay a large dowry when it is time for marriage.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
She cooks for the children at the anganwadi, the government slum daycare center.  This project has meant that many children do not starve.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Bindu, a remarkable woman, heads up the Anganwadi Project in Chennai.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
At Chennai Central Station, travellers prepare to sleep through the night to get an early train back to their native place.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Many Indian mothers will hand-feed their children for years.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Mother and Daughter--Rukmani in the foreground was forced to marry when she was 14 years old.  She cried for a week because she wanted to be a lawyer.  She married a drunk and has had to support her family by being a maid.  She heads up a micro-financing venture for the women in her neighbourhood.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
T Nager is a great place to shop in Chennai, but like any bargain basement, it is crowded.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Everyday, Tamil housewives are required to collect water that their household will need.  They don't need to go to the gym to stay in shape. 
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
A housewife takes off her shoes before entering in the mill where she brought grain that will be processed into flour.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
A construction worker holds on to the scaffolding.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
The students are celebrating Holi where they throw colored dust at each other.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
These nursing students are to shy to swim at the beach on their day off.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
The nursing student finally felt relaxed enough to wade in the water.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Here a lady applies the glue for book-binding.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Speaking a little Tamil helps put the construction workers' wives at ease.  They live in tents on the construction site.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
She works at the printing press that still does work the way they did hundreds of years ago.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Less and less people are taking over-night trains where we all sleep together.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
Five years ago, you would not see a self-respecting Tamil woman driving a scooter, but now it is a common sight to see a housewife manage driving in traffic in her sari.
chennai fishermen construction tamil nadu daycare women microfinance Anganwadi Bookbinding batik rag picker Students holi
This is a fisherman's wife who just got finished selling the daily catch.  It's been a long day for the women in Tamil Nadu.
Colors of Women in Tamil Nadu
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Giovanna Fava's profile
London, United Kingdom

Colors of Women in Tamil Nadu

See the women of many colors in Tamil Nadu.

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