The man who guards my workplace.
Seeing camera in my hand, he wanted to get clicked and when I did, he came running to see the shot .It was in a sense a moment of great satisfaction for him to see this picture that defines his identity.
A major part of his life in Kabul is spent in front of this gate, guarding our workplace. A city where deadly suicide attack is a living reality.
This is my dear friend Hafizullah Ahmadi.
He drives me around in Kabul in his Toyota 4WD Runner, a baby elephant :)
Hafizullah speaks fairly good English, better than many of us in India. Soon after his birth, his father decided to migrate to Pakistan in 1988 with family at the time of the Soviet invasion. They came back to Kabul in 1996. After finishing his school he had to discontinue his studies, after he lost his father to blood cancer.
The youngest in the family of 5 brothers and 2 sisters, he supports his family in a big way.
Hafizullah now dreams of studying Business Administration. Inshallah, one day he will.
He smiled not when I said cheese, but when I called him handsome, which actually he is!
:)
Thats Afghanistan's own 'Burger'.
An indian 'Naan' type of a bread is rolled with lots of french fries, mutton kebabs, and mutton sausage.
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Kabul at 6 in the evening.
Afghanistan works between 8am-4pm. Offices close by 4pm,and shops by 6 30pm in the evening.
I have not seen the concept of street lights in Kabul. And in fact this is one of the most posh areas in Kabul, called, Sher-e-Naw. One is not allowed to venture out into the city after 8pm.
The vibrant colorful shops keep the city alive and glimmer the roads till about 7pm. After that its only the beautiful dark blue sky to give you company
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The streets in Kabul give a very dry look, like the climate here. The trees at the moment have all dried up maybe because of the weather. It is the snow that takes the place of the leaves, beautifully forming a white layer on the branches.
Kabul, now appears like a desert, a cold one. It used to have a lot more trees, but the Soviets cut down most for security reasons (the mujahadeen hid in them to snipe at the Soviets).
After the Soviets left and the warlords fell to fighting one another, the city was shelled for almost three straight years from 1993 to 1996, destroying or damaging more trees. Then when the Taliban was in power, they paid little attention to planting new trees.
With no Taliban now, trees are being planted, but at a slow pace. In fact trees are being cut for firewood. With no trees left they will then go to the roots!!
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The famous Kabul Bread Factory. It was built by the Soviet 40th Army.
This old barren structure standing tall was once feeding mostly the soldiers fighting the civil war. It was processing and grinding 141.000 tons of wheat as well as cooking 40.000 tons of food items such as bread, cookies, and spaghetti before the wars but it was completely destroyed during the wars and all its machineries were looted.
It is surreal to look at this structure and feel its stillness, after knowing its history.
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If not a bird you will definitely spot a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk in Kabul. The sky is, 24*7, flooded with them, mostly transporting NATO officials/soldiers, VVIPs, and UN officials from one point to other. Because travelling on road is not a viable option.
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A local bread shop in Kabul. Nobody in the city bakes bread at home, they all purchase it from these local bakeries.
Every meal has to have a bread, either a long Naan, or a Naan Rogani(seen in the picture above), which is round in shape.
Naan Rogani is a little greasy as opposed to a normal Naan, which is dry.
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Qarga Lake. Just 10kms from the city, set in the barren hills, north-west of Kabul, towards the pakistan border, is this artificial lake, created in the late 50's by President Daoud as a recreation facility. So Suddenly, in 20 mins from the dust and fumes of the city you enter a serene, cllear air and cool water atmosphere.
This area is also home to the Kabul Golf Course. I am told this course is one of the most unusual courses in the world.
