Story 06 • Red Earth, White Walls

Karthik & Divya

A white tent, a red-earth field with a passing train, the sacred fire, and a white wall to end on.

Read from the beginning, or select any frame to see it large.

The bride standing alone at the opening of a vast white tent, curtains drawn back

iWhite

The opening of a vast white tent, curtains tied back, and the bride standing alone in the light between them.

Black and white: the groom settling his turban with both hands
The bride in pink and lime silk smiling before a bright painted wall
The bride in red and gold silk against a pale tiled wall
The bride standing still while the groom passes behind her in a blur

iiRed earth

Then out into an empty red-earth field under a pale sky, the two of them small against all that space, and a train crossing the horizon behind them.

The couple holding hands in the field, the bride soft in the foreground
Black and white: the groom smiling down at the bride
The couple standing in a red-earth field as a train crosses the horizon behind them
The couple small and far away in a wide, empty field under a white sky

iiiThe fire

Garlands of pink and white, hands folded, the sacred fire burning between the lens and the couple.

The couple seated in garlands at the ceremony, heads bowed
The couple with hands folded, seen through the flames of the sacred fire
Detail of a toe ring being placed as the bride's foot rests on the grinding stone
Petals thrown over the couple under a bright blue sky

ivWhite walls

We ended against a plain white wall beside a closed door. After so much colour, the simplest frame felt right.

The couple standing against a white wall beside a closed white door
Karthik & Divya, photograph 33 of 39
Black and white: the bride kissing the groom's cheek in soft high-key light

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