Women amidst the smoke and burning straw.

Deep within our hearts, we cherish a "ticket back to childhood"—a priceless, incomparable ticket. Just by closing our eyes, we feel as if we are sitting on a train of memories, returning to our beloved homeland, where golden rice fields stretch endlessly, and the smoke from burning fields lingers in the air each evening as our mothers burn their fires. That smoke carries the earthy scent of straw, the smell of soil after rain and sun, and the scent of hard work transformed into a bountiful harvest.

Author Do Dinh Thi Rom Photography submitted the artwork "Women with the Smoke and Fire of Straw" to the "Happy Vietnam 2025" competition. Location of creation: Binh An Commune, Gia Lai Province, Vietnam.

Introduction: At the end of each harvest season, the fields are shrouded in smoke as the straw is burned to clear the land. This work, seemingly only for strong men, is also busily participated in by many women. Amidst the afternoon sun and rising white smoke, in the heat of the blazing fire, despite their sweat-drenched bodies, they still wear bright, genuine smiles, reflecting the joy of a bountiful harvest.