TEXT & PHOTO: TEECHALIT CHULARAT
(For Thai, press here)
If you ask me when the most anticipated time of year is for Muslims, I will provide you with an answer right now: it is Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. Fasting is intended to be a time of spiritual discipline, a deep contemplation of one’s gratitude and relationship with God. When compared to other months of the year, Ramadan is the time when Muslims refrain from entertainment and engage in extra religious activities. However, faithful Muslims welcome Ramadan with joy and consider this faithful experience as a great blessing for the spiritual advancement they will receive during the holy month.
One of the things that makes Ramadan so special to me is being able to observe people’s lives and activities during this special time. This series of photographs depicts the way of life of Muslims in Thailand at the start of Ramadan this year (2023 is the year 1,444 in the Islamic calendar). I spent time photographing people at work or on their way to mosques to participate in religious ceremonies, as well as how they stopped to buy food in the afternoon to prepare for their first meal after sunset. Throughout different periods of the day, I noticed a different color, felt something different in the air, and witnessed people’s lifestyles differ from how they would normally live in other months of the year.
This is the first year I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with my own photography as I contemplated life during the month of Ramadan with a simpler perspective while my own personal emotional experiences were hidden inside each picture. I hope viewers will join me on this journey and discover new dimensions of life during this sacred time.
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Teechalit Chularat graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. He is currently working as a freelance architect under the name TEECHALIT ARCHITECT, the studio that he founded, with a portfolio that includes the architectural design of four mosques. He is also a photographer and the administrator of the Facebook page, Thai Minimal Photography.