Alone, the young goddess on her throne

Nepal's Kumari (living goddess) Samita Bajracharya, aged 10, sits on her traditional religious chair while waiting for devotees at the Buddhist monastery Ratnakar Bihar in Lalitpur, Nepal, on August 3, 2012, before the beginning of a procession held as part of the Gai Jatra (cow festival) which is dedicated to family members who have passed away recently.

See more of Narendra Shrestha's photos of Samita: Worshipped and then cast aside: the life of a living goddess

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