The Colorful Crayon Stairs and A Village Visit (મુલાકાત) – My Return to India: Day Three

Tuesday, January 3, 2012


Entry #3

Today in India I had the honor of traveling to the village where the groom’s father, Praveen, was born and raised. During the drive I was captivated by school children running up colorful stairs to class.  Most of the children spoke English so I talked to them for a while about their studies. They were excited to tell me some stories they had heard about the US. I ended up bummed though when one man approached me to ask about my country of origin and then he quickly departed seemingly annoyed. Oh well, I kept shooting and meeting other people anyways.

I sat for a while across from a construction crew working diligently to complete a project. The women I've seen working do just as much work as the men. No joke. This woman appears stoic but she smiled as I walked away showing her softer side.


The groom’s uncle hosted us for lunch and we had a traditional meal. The sweets for the upcoming wedding have already started creeping into every setting. Afterwards I took a nap upstairs like a drunken deserter. I'll tell you the truth, it seems like I can sleep anywhere right now - standing, sitting, leaning, riding, planking. LOL. 


I was awakened by a family member informing me that we were headed to witness a symbolic event. Samir and Amruta visited the temple to pay a gesture of homage to their religion. In a side conversation Pravin told me the room was where he himself had been born. I captured a moment of prayer just as a ray of light beamed through the shutters near the alter right in front of the couple. I was thinking, "No way! Where did that light come from all of a sudden??" 
 

This has been my favorite day thus far because I was out shooting what I love. I had the opportunity to walk around the village with the groom's brother, Darshak, and he graciously answered many of my questions. That's what I came to India for, to learn about the culture and to feed my need for anthropology. Oh yeah, the first day of the wedding is tomorrow!   



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1 comments:

Kimberly said...

I love the stories that accompany the photos, Ross. All of the images are amazing! One of my favorites is the construction workers. It almost looks like you posed them with the woman in front. She definitely looks like she can hold her own. I'm curious...what did you share with the man about the U.S. before he rushed away?