Five women

A group of five women of mixed origin – Tamil, Ceylonese or Eurasian, African – outside by the road. The woman standing furthest to the left is dressed in the South Indian style in a long wrap garment (selai or sari), the end of which is draped in front of the upper body and pinned to the side at the waist via the left shoulder and back. Her head is uncovered. Her hair hangs in a braid down her back. Her earlobes are pierced. The woman next to her wears a similar hip-cloth, with the end draped over her upper body and left shoulder to the back. Her head and hair are covered with a rolled-up headscarf on which a round water jug (kalaya) stands. The third woman stands with her partially uncovered back towards the artist. She is also dressed in the South Indian style in a long wrap garment (selai or sari). On her head, a thickly folded headscarf. These three standing women are probably Tamil, laborers from Jaffna or South India. The woman sitting in the middle is Eurasian or Ceylonese.