ENTRY DESCRIPTION
It was in March 2024, as I was climbing up numerous stairs to Mukhtinat, a famous worshipping and pilgrimage site in the high mountains of Nepal's Annapurna range. Sadhus, holy people dedicated to a an ascetic life without any private property, were squatting all along the stairs up to the entrance, asking passers-by for money. Most of them seemed rather like shrewd beggars, not holy men, engaging visitors in talks. But one of them remained demure, not addressing anybody, just sitting there in quiet contemplation. I stepped closer and was caught by the depth in his gaze, speaking of wisdom and pain. When I asked his permission for taking his photo, he just raised his hand and waived at me. I wondered what experience and truths this Sadhu might have to share, but kept to himself.

AUTHOR
Dr. Alamir is a political scientist by education and has been working in security policy and international development contexts for more than twenty years. In the wake of numerous business and private travels to Europe, Asia and Africa, she developed a keen interest in photojournalism, people and landscape photography. Around 2010, she assumed a more ambitious approach to photography and has been working to improve by professional standards ever since. Since 2017, she has won several honorable mentions in international photo competitions, among others several honorable mentions of the International Monoawards and the 1st prize (Discovery of the Year) 2019 of the Tokyo International Foto Awards.

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