Last week I was on the dusty road to the Maharashtran interior. My friend (and best fixer!) Diti was on commission photographing the use of solar powered lights made by Greenlight Planet by villagers. The setting is the village of Chikanpada, 4-6 hours-depending on the driver-of a rough drive outside of Mumbai.
There are no more that 60 mud-brick houses, decorated with colourful doors and stencils, hay drying on makeshift huts and cows roaming around. The kids had finished school by the time we got there and were on overdrive to play and pose for the aliens. Most men were away working the fields and the remaining adult population equally bemused and curious. They were extremely accommodating and polite, despite the language problems. They only speak Marathi here you see. And my half hour chat with the three old men, kick-started by the exchange of tobacco for leaves ciggies, was enjoyable if wholly incomprehensible.
The simplicity of life in Chikanpada, the silence and endless vistas, the sharing of everything and the star-clad darkness of the night were such a contrast of the bustling mega-city we returned to. Still processing it.
There are no more that 60 mud-brick houses, decorated with colourful doors and stencils, hay drying on makeshift huts and cows roaming around. The kids had finished school by the time we got there and were on overdrive to play and pose for the aliens. Most men were away working the fields and the remaining adult population equally bemused and curious. They were extremely accommodating and polite, despite the language problems. They only speak Marathi here you see. And my half hour chat with the three old men, kick-started by the exchange of tobacco for leaves ciggies, was enjoyable if wholly incomprehensible.
The simplicity of life in Chikanpada, the silence and endless vistas, the sharing of everything and the star-clad darkness of the night were such a contrast of the bustling mega-city we returned to. Still processing it.
the next time you call me 'shootingwalla' or 'photographer' i am going to throw bananas at you!
ReplyDeletebut really, such a simple life. immediately felt at home in spite of all the attention we got for bringing fancy cameras and foreigners! ;)
the foreigner likes bananas!
ReplyDelete