Jannat

Gauri Gill spent years photographing single mother Izmat Bai and her daughters, Jannat and Hooran, in their village in Western Rajasthan, India. In this image, Jannat stands between mud buildings, her dress blending seamlessly into the rocky dirt, her thin arms resembling the twigs of nearby trees. Her name is Arabic for “paradise” or “garden,” which injects a sense of abundance into the desolate landscape, just as her shock of shiny, dark hair seems surprisingly healthy and voluminous despite her malnourishment.