How does one reconcile the seemingly stark polarities in the lives of Pastoralists?
Divine grasslands and shrill highways,
The complete leisure in a rain soaked year,
and the utter distress of a dry year;
The enviable laziness of a pastoralist sitting by her herd,
and the back breaking hard labour of herding animals,
across harsh and strenuous terrains;
The movement of a herd, and the stillness of their lone herder.
The deep bonds with animals and the quick gains from selling them;
Protecting and parenting their flocks, and then sacrificing a special one,
in appeasement to a deity…

I simply could not capture the oneness of these binaries, even as I struggled to comprehend it. No outsider can, or even begin to understand this world. You are either one of them, or live with them. As did some of the photographers we bring to you in this section called Manzar.