I call these my “Train…

I call these my "Train Ladies." I took the photo in 2005, on the platform at Kandy. I'm still awkward, taking photos of people, but I sort of gestured towards them with my camera, and they sort of nodded back. And then the older woman in the foreground straightened her sari skirts and put her hands in her lap.

A friend of mine told me that the woman in the back is clearly Sinhalese, and the one in front is clearly Tamil, based on their dress, make-up, jewelry. It makes me a little sad that that isn't obvious to me; cultural knowledge I've lost. When I left Sri Lanka as a little girl, would I have known that? I don't know.

The photo hangs in my living room, and often visitors ask if they're relatives of mine. I admit, I'm sometimes a little tempted to claim one is my mother. :-)

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