Burn unit of Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital, Nepal, was always in rush for the doctors, but oppositely time almost stopped for the patients. They were waiting for the miracle to fix every scar, some died, some kept dreaming. I could not help much but photographed them and hold their hands tight while dressing wounds. I got into relationship with them, once held hands of Kamini whose husband burned her body to give her a ‘lesson’, Kamini and I walked down the alleys, had ice-cream, shared our stories and dreamt some fortunes. There were times when screams were silent and the fire was cold. For first few days, I struggled a lot to adjust with this loud and speedy environment of the hospital. But slowly I realized there was also some quiet moments, very quiet and personal time for those patients. Sitting on a bench, going through dark nostalgia, hoping for a rebirth. The damage was severe, but hope was still alive. I saw the same hope on the eyes of doctors, nurse and patient’s relatives. It became a family with the same prayer. There were colors in the hospital, both in lights and people's lives. Some were still curious to see their faces in the mirror. I focused on slowing down, making portraits, feeling the mood and photographing subtle moments and expressions.
Cold fire
Prithi
Bangladesh
Comment
Burn unit of Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital, Nepal, was always in rush for the doctors, but oppositely time almost stopped for the patients. They were waiting for the miracle to fix every scar, some died, some kept dreaming. I could not help much but photographed them and hold their hands tight while dressing wounds. I got into relationship with them, once held hands of Kamini whose husband burned her body to give her a ‘lesson’, Kamini and I walked down the alleys, had ice-cream, shared our stories and dreamt some fortunes. There were times when screams were silent and the fire was cold.
For first few days, I struggled a lot to adjust with this loud and speedy environment of the hospital. But slowly I realized there was also some quiet moments, very quiet and personal time for those patients. Sitting on a bench, going through dark nostalgia, hoping for a rebirth. The damage was severe, but hope was still alive. I saw the same hope on the eyes of doctors, nurse and patient’s relatives. It became a family with the same prayer. There were colors in the hospital, both in lights and people's lives. Some were still curious to see their faces in the mirror. I focused on slowing down, making portraits, feeling the mood and photographing subtle moments and expressions.