A remarkable book of photographs accompanied by moving and often disturbing testimonies by the children about their lives within the caste system, their families, fears, futures, and dreams. This unique book of photographs and text takes place in the 2000-year-old village of Vichya in the desert of Gujarati, India. There, photographer and teacher Wendy Ewald lived and taught twenty of the village's children, ages ten to fourteen years, the art and craft of photography. Whether they attend school or work the fields, whether they are untouchables or of another caste, the children speak chillingly of their concern over their impending marriages and stories of bride-burning, of their hopes and dreams, and of their almost unanimous desire to photograph the gods. The children's pictures and oral histories are joined with Ewald's evocative observations and images of the town and its people.
