When darkness falls

Text and Photo By Tan Pei Lin 2014-02-24

When I first heard about scheduled power cuts in Nepal (or “load-shedding” as the locals call it), I mentally prepared myself for long nights in the dark while shivering in the cold. But no amount of preparation could have readied me for my first power cut. When it finally happened, I found myself groping around in the darkness, tripping on uneven roads and bathing in the dark. Coming from Singapore where electricity is always readily available, I had never experienced such darkness. I sat in front of more makeshift fires in my first week here than I had in a lifetime in my country. But with darkness comes light. The simple and cozy experience of gathering around the flames with my friends and host family would never have taken place if there was power. We’d be in our individual rooms, using our computers or watching television, instead of exchanging jokes and talking about our day. The lack of electricity, in its own way, has brought people closer.

The scheduled power cuts run up to 12 hours a day, and I was curious to know about how the locals dealt with it. This photo essay documents how people of different demographics manage the onset of load-shedding.

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