Challisha ; In Remembrance of My Grandfather (2019)
Village is where you feel infinite freedom.
In a village, nature and the surroundings feel connected with you.
All the relatives were starting to arrive at my grandparents' home.
One of my cousins was taking a rest after arriving at the house at night.
The night was surreal.
One of my cousins was playing around the compound of the house.
My grandfather used this bike throughout his entire life. It is now a token of the resemblance of him.
These were some of my grandfather’s belongings that he left in the house.
His belongings.
This photo defines a lot about the age of the house, the amount of time my grandfather lived at this house, and the memories he built at this place.
I was roaming around and saw some cracks in the pillars of the house. Then I realized everything has to end someday.
My cousin was gossiping with me, and the shadows caused by him seemed interesting to me.
There occurred load-shedding in the middle of the night. And during the busy hours, someone forgot his / her tea.
One of my cousins was checking the torch.
One of my cousins was playing with a torch at the compound.
One of my Aunts was praying her prayer the night before the Challisha.
The goods necessary for the event were starting to arrive at the house.
The modified kitchen was ready to be used for making some foods for the upcoming event.
The preparations for making the foods were already started in the middle of the night before the event.
Finally, the day had arrived. One of my Aunts was sewing the cloth for my grandmother.
My sister was helping my cousin with her make up.
They were busy playing games on the mobile phone.
One of my cousins was playing around the house while the compound was being decorated behind him.
He put a band to his head and gave me a sweet smile.
Two of my cousins were watching TV.
My grandmother was praying her prayer just before the event had started.
All the preparations were being made for making the food.
The cooks were cooking the foods.
The decoration was completed and ready for the guests.
He is my grandfather, from whom this big family was started.
Challisha is an event for the Muslim people, where the friends and relatives of the dead gather after 40 days to read the Quran, make dua for him, and remember him.
My grandfather died on 31st February, 2019. I didn't make any album or any kinds of photos of my grandparents throughout my entire life. But after my grandfather's death, when our family arranged Challisha of my grandfather, I went to my village to attend the challisha of my grandfather, and I decided to make an album on this event that was so close to our heart. We stayed there for two days and one night, and I tried to make an album in that short period of time, which we all can relate to. At first, I began to take some photos of this event for archival purposes and include some photos in our family album as a token of that event's memories. But gradually, I started to make a photo story out of those photos afterward. I gave each photo a caption for understanding what's going on in the photos. I am dedicating this album to my grandfather.
