The women of Tarnetar

portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
This little girl was possibly the prettiest one there. I chased her for quite some time for a little glimpse.

Tarnetar is an annual fair which happens around the Tarnetar Shiva temple near Surendranagar, Gujarat in the month of September. Men and women from the surrounding areas come and look for a partner to get married. The festival is, in fact, women centric as they are the ones to pick the man whose umbrella they like the most. I won't get into the details and more could be read here.

portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
During the fair, the artisans also live close by. This woman cleaning after the afternoon meal...
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
The bandit - bangle seller with a golden tooth
portrait indian tribal old woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
Such a beautiful old woman...she had such grace!
 
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
Half scandalized by my camera focused on her, she also laughed constantly :)
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
Mother-in-law/ daughter-in-law, or so I think!
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
She gave me one of the brightest smiles for the day!

portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
Generally smiling, she went into a pensive mood when I started clicking
There is lots to talk about, yet I choose the women that I saw there to be the subject of this post. I spoke to many of them in my halting Gujarati, though most didn't understand one bit of it. They thought of me to be someone from the press or even better from USA (extremely common in Gujarat).

portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
This young woman posed for me like a professional! She had an intense gaze...
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
The boisterous woman ignored me completely :)
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
Apart from the yellow, pink and orange, green is the other very popular color!

I cannot do justice to them all in post, so there would be another follow up post with some more images. So often the images all look the same, but its far from the truth. Each face speaks its own story, each set of eyes hides its own set of secrets. Look carefully and you will see them all.

portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
A visitor, surprisingly in muted colors by the fair standards
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
Another very beautiful woman...
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
The water girl, serving water for free...
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
Really liked her profile, didn't chase her as her husband was right next to her!
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
A mother, so full of poise...
portrait indian tribal woman women girl tarnetar gujarat fair festival colourful face
She was beautiful, of course, yet her jewellery pulled me the most...

Comments

  1. Amazing clicks sidd..loved them...waiting for ur next blog...n was expecting to have a look at the umbrella as well...:)

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  2. loved ur pics, but loved the idea of a 'marriage fair' more!

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  3. Awesome collections of emotions and expressions sidd.. loved each n every pic in this post. :)

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  4. i just imagined you carrying the camera and clicking random women!! the first one is breathtaking she is sooooo sexy!! and yeah did you get married ;)
    [copied from the first comment]

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  5. and just because you went to this length for photography :D you are my fav photographer now! and i tweeted your link xx

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  6. @Ankush: Unfortunately I didn't :( As you are aware nothing till 2014 :)

    @Vishakha: Thank you dear, and I like your profile pic :) I hope the next set won't disappoint u!

    @Anu: Thanks, and even I like the marriage idea a lot! Especially because its the women who pick the men :)

    @Bijoy: Thanks buddy, and this time you were there to witness it all :)

    @Chintan: Not exactly random women, I clicked them after some little conversations with most of them in my broken Gujarati (which sent most of them into fits of laughter) :)

    Traveling for photography is one of the best things one can do :)

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  7. I love all the bright colors in their clothes! And you definitely caught some great smiles. I think each of these women has their own beauty. :)

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  8. Really really loved this!! Some great images you did such a great job with the faces. You caught such natural expressions, I loved the women who kept laughing, I have had that happen before lol.

    You have an excellent eye!!!! I started following you on Google!!!


    http://jpweddingphotograpy.blogspot.com/2011/09/remembering-9-11-with-images-of.html

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  9. Well captured Sid. Each face speaks a thousand words.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.com/2011/09/in-search-of-serenity.html

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  10. Awesome clicks and expressions...i liked "Another very beautiful woman..." the most..

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  11. Some excellent portraits here. This is my first visit and it's very impressive.

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  12. Strange are the ways of the world, marriage fair I mean!

    Lovely pictures.

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  13. Their faces and smiles have much to say.... but it is hidden within them

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  14. @Halycon: I agree they are all beautiful in their own captivating way...

    @Jim: Thanks a lot, I am glad that you liked the pictures :)

    @RNiranjanDas: Thank you :)

    @Manoj: Thanks man, the woman you liked was really pretty...

    @Divinity: Thank you :)

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  15. @kenbello: Thank you :)

    @Mridula: :), marriage fair is what pulled me to the place :)

    @PrashanthM: Thank you!

    @Shaeer: Thanks man!

    @Savira: I agree, faces reveal as well as hide so much...

    @Dhiraj: Thanks buddy :)

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  16. Nice..
    Each face tells a story!

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  17. Really? hmmm btw, did you carry an umbrella? Must be an interesting trip :)
    Very nice pictures indeed!

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  18. Yeah, I've heard of marriage fair but really, are the women this colorful because of fair? Don't think so.
    Your photos depict the women very well.

    Yes, i also want to know whether you carried an umbrella or not. :p

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  19. What stunning collection of portraits! Wish I could have gotten such wonderful shots of people in India, but a hand waving as a 'no' was regularly shown to me and I truly respect that.

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  20. Awesome shots, really loved them....

    By the way, here is my IndiVine post. Check it and if you like it then please Promote it too there on IndiVine.

    http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=72607

    Thanks :)

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  21. Loved all the pictures, particularly the "water girl"

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  22. @KP: That's true, each face has a story...

    @Fabio: Absolutely! I am also trying to discover the culture through my travels...

    @Kusum: Haha...it was certainly an interesting trip :)

    @Sridharan: :)

    @Nisha: I don't think any of these women are dressed for marriage, in fact, that's an altogether different set of women and they always wear a red skirt.

    Women in this part of Gujarat are generally dressed colorfully, and I guess fairs are the time when everyone dresses in their best :)

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  23. @JM: That's unfortunate, maybe because I am a local, people are more open with me. Also they find my antics funny and that helps in opening them up for a picture :)

    @Shaan: Thanks man!

    @Sudha: Thanks a lot :)

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  24. a little too late to comment...but nevertheless....the women you 'captured' are B-U-T-FUL! (beautiful)...awesome colors...love their jewellery...happy faces...happy women...loved it totally!

    P.S. you are still not married?!!!! *grins*

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  25. nice range of expressions and colorful!

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  26. What a fabulous collection! You have sensitively captured women wearing different shades - of attire and expressions :)

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  27. @Shruti: Its never too late :) Thank you for such a nice comment!

    @Daniel: Thank you :)

    @thefloatingclouds: Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed these!

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  28. Okay. So I will comment. :-) Because these are such beautiful women and you have captured them so truthfully.

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  29. Awesome clicks!! The potraits are lively and very very attractive!
    Great Job, Siddhartha...

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  30. is it tradition to have nose rings?

    love the girl from the distance photo. there's some sort of mystery in her eyes.

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  31. @metagravity: Thanks a lot, I am glad you liked them!

    @Kathy: Nose rings are a tradition almost everywhere in India, and more so in the western regions. There are numerous varieties, from simple studs to huge ones supported by the ears as well...

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  32. Oh these are such beautiful pics, I liked the water girl very very much, I find some mischief dancing in her eyes...
    Oh n I also liked the earings these women are wearing, very creative:)

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  33. Thanks Mansi, I also really like the blue in the picture you talking about! She was also the first girl I clicked at the fair!

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  34. What strange niceties :) India in its exuberance, indeed!The girl serving water for free is like from a Sanjay Leela movie, so much blue :P And the colours, sheer love!

    Cheers,
    Arch

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  35. I never quite looked at the girl that way, but surely there is lots of blue :) Maybe Bhansali would have made it into a night fair to add the darkness...that would be quite something!

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  36. Hi Siddhartha, Nice blog post. It was interesting to see the faces of women (always tough to shoot in our social environment). Each face a story - well done there.

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  37. One thing I always enjoy are those colourful clothes...

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  38. @Mayank: Thanks a lot man, I am glad you enjoyed it :)

    @Dominic: Absolutely, the colorful clothes are delightful. I love them too :)

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  39. Nice pics once again, Sid! You sure love to click pictures of village women(and pursue them also), don't you?! ;-)

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  40. Hey Sriram, I am glad you enjoyed the pictures :) And yes, I love clicking women...from village or otherwise! Actually I love clicking people...and sometimes I do chase them to no end to get the picture right :)

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  41. Hi Siddhartha absolutely brilliant pics!! I have a blog written with tarnetar pics clicked by a friend!! you can check out at http://dzinedais.blogspot.com/.

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  42. Thanks Preety, the pictures on your blog are great too! I guess we both had a great time at the fair :)

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  43. Clearly the best blog and photos on tarnetar.. I,m going to reblog this one! thanks siddhartha!

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