Sri Lanka. Flower girl at a traditional wedding. A great story here. In May 2002 we were driving through the north of Sri Lanka and stopped in a run down hotel near the town of Dhambula. Dressed in fairly grubby travel clothes (a legacy of traveling for a year) we were in reception when a wedding party went past. We wished congratulations to the bride and groom and next thing we were invited to the wedding and treated like guests of honour. We ate, drank and celebrated with these people who, from an extremely poor background, showed us the most incredible hospitatility I have ever known. Afterwards we were invited back to their house to continue, a privilige only reserved for family and special friends, and the festivities continued. As we left at the end of the day we were given gifts and prayers were said for us to keep us safe as we traveled. We took lots of shots that day and 8 months later were able to send some beautiful shots, blown up and wonderfully framed to them as a late wedding present. Yesterday we recieved a letter of thanks and the friendship continues.
Dana, I love her expression and the texture of her dress on her dark skin. It is a warm photo, and I imagine her parents seeing this image for the first time. It is a wonderful gesture to send them framed photos. So many people would come home and simply forget. The BG on the right is a little distracting but I can't help focus on her missing tooth area instead, and how cute it is!
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