Face that won the PJ contest

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: There is a girl child with hair all over the right side of her face. And a drop of tear is seen coming out from her right eye. Taken by photojournalist Narendra Shrestha, this photograph was announced as the Photo of the Year of the Mega Bank Photo Competition 2068 organised by the Photojournalists Club.

“I took a photo of this girl Bhawana Thami before she underwent surgery at the hospital,” shared Shrestha about the photograph after receiving the award at the opening of Mega Bank Photo Competition and Exhibition 2068 held at Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal on May 11.

The photo story of the same child who undergoes the surgery and returns her home after the treatment grabbed the third prize in another category — Photo Story. The contest was divided into four other categories — Tourism, News, Daily Life and Nature and Wildlife, and it was again Narendra who became the winner in the first two categories. “In the context there are very few photo contests and lack continuity, I feel lucky that I have won the award for four titles,” shared Shrestha who has mixed reactions about his victory. “Because I won the title award, I must be happy. But the photo of a girl in tears made me the winner and I am quite sad,” he expressed.

Another photo story about a single woman Laxmi and her children by Uma Bista from The Himalayan Times entitled her the second prize in the same category.

One could find photos like a dog nursing a piglet, snakes mating, the body of the Nepal Oil Corporation blast victim, as well as beautiful landscapes of different parts of the nation in the exhibition.

Out of over 7,000 photos received from 800 participants, the jury panel had selected 138 photos for the exhibition from 76 participants, as per the organisers. And the photos were adjudged by eight judges with Gopal Chitrakar as the chief judge.

The first, second and third prize winners of each category were awarded with prizes worth Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. Meanwhile, Photo of the Year Contest won a prize worth Rs 100,000.

Handing over the prizes to the winners, Chairperson of Constituent Assembly Subash Chandra Nembang praised the role played by photojournalists during the mass movement and transition period of Nepal. “Let’s hope we will be able to see the photos of the country issuing a new constitution in the next exhibition,” he stated.

The exhibition is on till May 15 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.