IMOW - Photo Opportunity

Stories

Themes

Love
Relationships in changing times. See the Stories>>

Money
Working women talk finances. See the Stories>>

Culture and Conflict
Are we destined to disagree? See the Stories>>

The Future
Envisioning the next 30 years. See the Stories>>

Highlights
Highlighted stories in film, art, music and more. See the Stories>>

War & Dialogue
Speaking from war. Advocating peace. See the Stories>>

Young Men
Our generation: young men speak out. See the Stories>>

Motherhood
Women get candid about pregnancy, parenting and choice. See the Stories>>

Image and Identity
Appearances aren't everything, or are they? See the Stories>>

Online Film Festival
31 films from women directors around the world. See the Stories>>

A Generation Defined
Who are young women today? See the Stories>>

Best of Contest
You came, you saw, you voted. Here are the winners. See the Stories>>

Conversations

What Defines Your Generation of Women?

selected theme

Search:

REGISTER \| LOGIN		Change Language» Invite a friend »

Photo Opportunity
Nina Torcivia

United States

GALLERY

CONVERSATION

On a journey of seven, or forty hours, one gets such an extreme dose of sensory overload it is a wonder some people ever get off.

The countless vendors that pass through the walkways of the cars are different at each stop. They sell everything from chai to gold chains, candy, even combs. Beggars and wanderers get on and off at various stages with the throngs of other passengers. From snake charmers to street performers, the scenery inside and out of the cars is ever changing.

Of all the trains in India, only one is so firmly imprinted on my mind that I think of it frequently. On a train from Nasik to Aurungabad a clan of thirty people stepped briefly into my life. Men, women, and children, piled into the already overloaded train car, and quickly found nowhere to sit.

Donned in brilliant indigo and rust-colored blouses, head wraps, and tapered, gauzy pants, they were a Technicolor vision. The most striking feature of this nomadic crew was easily the hardware that came with them. Large silver swords draped across men’s torsos, some bearing additional daggers, while others clutched small brass pots. Like a modern day tribe of prophets, the men were traveling with women dressed in surprisingly colorless outfits.

The children immediately started bounding up onto the small luggage racks above the passengers, while the women and little girls found random slivers of seats her and there. Across from my girlfriend and I, two plump girls nestled into the humid bench, pushing our imposing backpacks off to the side. The four of us sat facing each other. Their tiny soiled hands and dresses were the radical opposite of their older male counterparts, yet they possessed a beauty the others did not.
See Full Story »

RELATED ITEMS (18)

Jasmine Shwu-fen Lee
Taiwan
I'm intrigued by the multi-cultural phenomena that I have...
GO TO STORY »

Indigo A. Williams
Australia
These images visualize parts of a border crossing or...
GO TO STORY »

Heba Farid
Egypt
I was born in 1966 in Cairo, during a time when Egypt...
GO TO STORY »

Shailja Patel
United States
The children in my dreams speak in Gujurati
GO TO STORY »

/ / /

The content in this exhibit does not necessarily represent the opinions of the International Museum of Women, or its partners or sponsors.