Tom Pietrasik Video & Photography

On a weekly visit, Krishnamurthy (right) collects from school his three daughters attending Cuddalore's Government Girls High School. Sivapriya (age 14, far left). Anjalakshi (age 10, centre)...The five Krishnamurthy sisters from Pudupettai were placed in the Government Home for Tsunami Children in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu when they lost their mother to the 2004 tsunami. Their father, Krishnamurthy, had decided he could no longer provide day-to-day care for his daughters. Krishnamurthy later remarried. The Krishnamurthy sisters now range in age from eight to sixteen...The four younger sisters are still at the Governement home (or orphanage). In summer 2009, Sivaranjini, the eldest aged sixteen, failed her 10th Standard exams and had to drop out of school so leaving her not eligible for care at the Government home. She is now living with her father and his new wife Nagamalli's house 30km away in Pudupettai. Krishnamurthy is intending that Sivaranjini marry a second cousin in 2010. ..Krishnamurthy visits the Government orphanage once a week to see his four younger daughters. Nagamalli is popular with all five sisters. She provides them attention when they are together and is genuinely interested in their well-being. Sivapriya remains close to her paternal aunt Kamasala with whom she used to live in the fishing village of Thazanguda. Kamasala visits Sivapriya at the orphanage every fortnight. The sisters return to their father's home for festivals including Diwali and the Pudupettai village temple festival...According to Revathi, the staff member in charge at the Government home, the absence of the elder Sivaranjini has had the effect of making the remaining four sisters still at the home increasingly independent. For instance, where they used to all sleep together the girls now sleep in different dormitories. The eldest of these four, fourteen year-old Sivapriya has adopted some of the responsibilities of her elder sisters including coordinating clothes washing and helpi