This was my first visit back to India after I had developed a passion for photography. From the craziness of Kolkata to the tranquil villages where my mum’s family come from,  I am always enthralled by the character of such a beautiful country. Whenever I visit, I usually go to my mum’s home village of Jemo. The village is sleepy and has a charm to it that I can’t just describe,  although I would be the first to admit that  I can only last a few days before I long for the hustle and bustle of the city. However, with camera  in hand I was in my element.

The children especially were fantastic to work with bringing a sense of fun,energy and wonder. They wanted so many pictures and I was more than happy to take them.

 

 

As this is the village where a number of my relatives are from, I was lucky to have opportunities which I otherwise may not have had. The picture below was from the one of my relative’s homes and the lady is making puffed rice which is very popular.

 

 

Even when I was leaving Jemo, to go back to Kolkata, there were photo opportunities. This was taken from the back of our overfilled jeep with me sitting in the back along with all the luggage. I didn’t mind though, as I was able to see what was going on behind me.

 

 

You can find more pictures from this set on my flickr page or on my facebook page.

I was very happy that I was able to see this version of India before it is lost forever. Progress is a wonderful thing but the flipside is that you lose the the individual character of places as the world gets smaller and everywhere gets homogenised. So I would urge you guys to go and visit those must see destinations sooner rather than later. I finally got to Sri Lanka this year, what’s your next destination?