This is the grandmother of Jhumu, one of the artist and friends we work with in the Dhaka project. Her name is Anowara Begum Rani, and she is over 70, and has 5 children. Jhumu introduces her as being a beautiful woman, who prides herself of looking decent always. She is living with her daughter and her two children, in Dhaka. Before she lived in a village with her eldest daughter. When I asked what is the most important in her life, she started telling that when she was just 11 months old, her mother died. Having no siblings, her father remarried and left her to her maternal grandmother. She always felt very lonely, and still feels so. Growing up, she struggled a lot to survive. She married young, and had her two daughters, but her husband died when she was around 20. So she was left again, back to her two grandmothers with two children to take care of. Then she met her second husband, who she loved, and who loved her very much. He died 5 years ago, after which she went living with her eldest daughter. Her room is now at the front of the house, so she can still see and hear the traffic, and does not feel alone.
120 x 120 cm
Photography by: Martijn Crowe
