First good photo

Friday saw me going for a huge rally by Newaris, an ethnic group with their own unique language here in Nepal who are campaigning for an autonomous state. Min, a senior photographer who's been with Nepali Times since Day 1, was nice enough to ask me along for the assignment. 

By the way, after spending a few hours with Min, I've concluded that he knows half the people in Nepal. Everywhere we went, he was shaking the hand of someone. Snapping pictures in front of the podium, running through the streets chasing the front of the march, riding a bike and meeting cops, everywhere there was someone who knew this guy. That's what being a reporter makes you.

The rally itself turned out to be quite a big affair. The numbers swelled as the speeches started but the crowd was very tame. I mean we see more action during Workers' Party rallies back home in Singapore. My theory is that these guys protest/strike/rally/do-crazy-stuff everyday but we only get to scream in public places once every 5 years so it all comes out then. 

Lucky for me I still managed to capture one moment of passion. My first good photo in Nepal, rubber stamped by the Photo Czar back home!