india6

I was browsing through my April India holiday photos and came across these. I remember the exact moment they were taken.

It was towards the end of our 13 day stay in southern India. We came out of the Mysore Palace, having just provided ourselves with our own 40 min guided tour aka reading Lonely Planet guide. We had had enough of the sweltering heat, relentless humidity, sweating it up big time, the constant staring, the begging for money, touts wanting business, the need for a break from curry for three meals daily, increased cost just because your a tourist... don't get me wrong we adored India, but every now and then it just crept under our skin - in the wrong way. This day we felt tired. Not bothered by bartering for prices. So lucky for us on the way back to our hotel a rickshaw driver makes us an offer. We don't bargain him down, but are simply thankful to get out of the sun, we jump in. Before we know it our 10 minute trip home had turned into a 1 hour Sari, Silk and Incense Emporium tour (the idea being that you purchase items and the driver is given either a small commission of what you have purchased or a provided with a free government enforced rickshaw driver shirt for himself) ending up at the city's oldest market. So we went in and came out empty handed each time as there are only so many Krishna or Laxshmi statues one can own. Our last stop had me excited as India's markets always impresS us, and meant lots of happy snaps for me! We wandered around the vibrant fruits and vegetables piled perfectly on top of each other, and then I spotted this brown eyed girl leaning up agains a bag of dried chillies.

I waved at her, she was uninterested in us and just kept looking towards her mother who was close by. Her mother nodded shyly and grinned when I made hand gestures asking to take her daughter's photograph.

The top two were the first two photos I have ever taken with my new fancy shmancy camera where the subjects eyes were actually IN FOCUS! I remember showing the photos to Mark on the lcd screen back at the hotel and squealing with delight when i was my reflection in her eye. Funny the things that make you heart-skippy-happy. The hour long sweats-ville Emporium trip was sure worth it for these moments frozen in time.