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| I seem to make a friend with a boy about half my height every time I'm in a sightseeing situation like the one I was in when I took this photograph. This is Mani in front of the Airavatesuara Temple in Darasuram just outside of Trichy, Tamil Nadu. These friendships that I acquire all usually happen about the same way. My interpretation is something like this: I will stumble into some incredible beautiful cultural landmark with my water bottle and camera bag. My new friend will be pretty amazed to see a white person and/or group of white people. As we cross paths I will try to say hello in Tamil. He will ask me for a school pen and/or a US dollar. I, being a wise guy, will ask him for a school pen instead and say that I have no money. This will confuse my new friend, and as I continue to walk, he will follow. At some point I will bust out my camera and take a snapshot of some aspect of the foresaid cultural landmark. My new friend will be excited about the prospect of being in photographs and I will spend most of the rest of the sightseeing situation playing with my new friend. |
