i love faces. i love the stories in them. the startled ones. the nervous twitches. the open faces. the stoic faces. some faces draw you in, some make you work and with some you are always the distant outsider.

her life lives on her face. the past leads to the present, intertwined on one face. it emerges at every corner and shows you her life. that one wrinkle when she fell very ill. the pursed lips for the grumbling tummy. the curl of the lip when they didn’t get her joke. the wide eyes of a first ever experience. the distant gaze of that faraway thought. the inviting smile of kindred. she tries and hides in her face, behind the eyelid, in the corner… but you still see her.

her emotions live and breathe in the eyes. and in her eyes you always find her.

here are some of my favourite faces from travels over the last 8 years. i remember the city in their eyes and through their eyes if they tell me more. find your tale in these faces and tell me about it in a comment.

sapna or ‘dream’ – what do her eyes see? 

the cabbie madhu at velha goa – he spoke to me about letting go and learning how to achieve peace and ‘nirvana’

the caretaker at jhadpoli – he made me work the hardest to get a glimpse of that wide, welcoming smile 

heerabai from purushwadi – she welcomed me right into her kitchen

i don’t know his name, he doesn’t know mine. the boy on the train to to aiguille de midi at chamonix. meet the dreamer at chamonix

driver in bhutan: we spoke in broken english, sign language and giggles.

girl by the river at purushwadi – she spoke without saying a word

goatherd at purushwadi – she paused in her ‘shoo’ing & ‘haw’ing 

girl in pink on the train to aiguille de midi. she smiled, grinned, laughed, chirped.

bangle seller outside hawa mahal, jaipur. she has a loud, open and welcoming laugh

the youth – what does the future hold for him? at purushwadi