Family photos
March 17
This hasn’t been the most comfortable few days in India. The weather is getting rapidly hotter, and I have a minor sickness that seems to be increasing as well. I have discovered that having a sore throat in the burning sun isn’t the most pleasant thing. Nonetheless, I tried to keep my spirits up as the marched through the streets towards my class, my mouth closed to avoid swallowing a handful of the millions of flies.
When I arrived in the class, the students were waiting for me, all standing, peering out the door and down the street in an attempt to be the first to spot a tall foreigner. While I was taking my shoes off they begun to shout holding up clinch fist in front of their faces, “Sirji, fight!” This was one of the ways we wasted time before class. It was always either wrestling, handstands, a game, or playing doctor. Today was obviously wrestling day as they all charged at me in a manor that seemed to be a devised attack, needless to say it failed, and by the time ten o’clock came around I had sufficiently reconfirmed by position as “Sirji.”
I was very excited for this day because we would be finishing taking the children’s family photos. I loved getting to see their parents and siblings and they were excited to see photos of themselves. So Gaurav and Sanjay were told that they would be driven home today by my driver and then we would get a photo with their family. The two become very excited for more reasons then just a photo. The two were getting the ride in a car, which they seemed to look at as a very rare treat; in fact it was so excited that Sharuk and Faruk came along just for the ride. It was also exciting for them because they didn’t have to walk to get home. I too was happy about this after seeing how far they really lived. I was so impressed by these two boys; both were always on time despite having by far the longest commute.
Gaurav lead me up to his house and his brother called his mother. We got to the door and his grandmother invited me inside. The house was just a small room that had two small beds. We all sat down and they began to bring out water and snack for us. After attempting to decline several times we gave in and begun to eat as they watched over with satisfaction. When the mother and sister arrived we took the photos as the neighbors looked on in confusion and curiosity. By the time the photos were reviewed by the family and we were walking back to the car we had a small tail of people following us.
I thought about Guarv jumping with excitement and leading me by the hand just over this simple photo and I became equally excited for the last photo I had to take, Rajkumar’s.
I got to Rajkumar’s house where he was already waiting outside with his hands in his pockets wearing his signature rolled up sleeves. As soon as he saw me he rushed upstairs and then around the corner. Within seconds his father, mother, and two sisters were lined up for a photo. The photos were snapped and they all looked on in pure excitement. I said goodbye as I closed my camera thinking, “Wow, what joy this silly thing can bring.”
I was having too much fun to stop. I went into the sewing class where Bonu was making tea for us. I told her I wanted to take a photo of her with her children and Friday was set as Bonu’s family photo.
I am not an expert on teaching, India, Hindi, or English. I’m not even an expert on Photography, but it is so nice to know that I don’t have to be. Simply gathering these people together to prepare a gift for them has brightened their day. A quite popular phrase heard in the market place when a seller is about to agree with a buyer’s price is, “if your happy, I’m happy.” When it comes to the people of PappanKalan this phrase has never meant as much as it now means to me.
Gaurav and Sanjay’s family
Rajkumar’s family
