“Roasting Maize Along With Her Lungs”
Roasted Life More Than Maize
An old lady roasting maize on the side of the main road on a sloping roadside caught my attention. She is not just selling maize there; she is earning a living for herself and her two granddaughters.
She does not worry about the polluted air or the harm it may cause to her health.
In fact, she had stopped doing this work for two years because of her health condition.
However, she had to start again to support herself and her granddaughters, as there is no one else to look after them. She is Thulimaya Tamang from Kavre, but she sells roasted maize in Godawari, Lalitpur.
She told me that she cannot breathe properly when she wears a mask.
Every day, she is exposed to smoke from the firewood she uses for roasting maize, as well as pollution from the busy road where large vehicles pass every minute. Like many others working on the streets, she continues her work despite the risks to her health.
For her, earning a living and caring for her family comes before everything else.
Contributor
@zennishah555-ba4664a7
Badge
Clean Air Messenger
Continue browsing
Related memories
Fresh Juice, Toxic Air
"While people stop for a glass of juice to escape the heat of Bhairahawa, I spent 15 years of my life in this smoke, dust and toxic air."
I have been selling sugarcane juice in the gate of Gautam Buddha International Airport for around 15 years. While people are drinking fresh sugarcane juice,I am compelled to inhale
सडकमा फोहोर जलाउँदा प्रदूषण
"सडकमा फोहोर जलाउँदा हावा प्रदूषित भइरहेको छ र जनस्वास्थ्यमा असर परिरहेको छ।"
यो तस्वीरमा सडक किनारमा फोहोर जलाइएको देखिन्छ। प्लास्टिक तथा अन्य फोहोर जलाउँदा निस्किने धुवाँले वरपरको वातावरण प्रदूषित बनाइरहेको छ। दैनिक रूपमा त्यही बाटो प्रयोग गर्ने स्थानीय मा
Breathing Between Concrete
"Even in crowded cities, nature still finds small spaces to survive."
I captured this moment during a light rain in an urban space where vines and plants quietly covered the concrete surroundings. The city outside was loud, dusty, and rushed, but ins
