Images of India

Making use of your constitutional right to vote is very important. Especially to Nanna who was to vote for the first time in her life when the Danish PM Fogh announced general elections on 13 November 2007. In order to fulfil our obligations as citizens of Denmark we had to travel 2½ hours on two different buses from Jhalra Pattan to Ramganj Mandi train station where we boarded a 12-hour train to New Delhi. We then spent one day shopping in the Diwali haze of Delhi's busy markets and went to bed early to be on time Monday 5 November for our 10 AM meeting with an official at the embassy. In this picture, Hans, Stine and I are in a tuktuk on our way there, singing the national anthem (something I never thought I'd do whilst abroad considering my luke-warm feelings for my home country) and generally spread the vibe that democracy is something fun for everyone :-)

After some practical introductions in the art of letter voting we cast our votes and had this picture taken with our ballots as proof. Notice how incredibly grown-up Nanna looks (the pretty blue one on the right)?
...and just to prove that we were actually there, we didn't just pose in the living room...

From the weekend in Jaipur. We had just come down from Amber fort where we had a nice touristy afternoon, riding on elephants and getting pumped for tips.

And for the amazing Deepavali (Diwali) celebrations which in importance equals a Danish christmas; we were invited by our Indian family, Sohan and Pankaj, to their village, Bheslana 65 km west of Jaipur. It was, in all honesty, an amazingly intimate experience. The celebrations are kicked off by lighting candles at dusk on 9 November. In this little village, we stood on the roof of Sohan's family home and watched as hundreds of candles in rows on each roof top was lit by excited children and relaxed husbands and fathers. The two families welcomed us as integrated naturally in their lives.

Pankaj took me on an exciting motorcycle ride through the villages and landscapes of the area, I had a chat with his friends; Sohan's wife and sister-in-law sat on the roof with us and chatted in Hindi. And all the women of the household sang traditional songs for us women when we were leaving. These memories from the festival of lights are by far the best I'm taking home with me from this place. This is Pankaj, my chotti bhaia (little brother) and Sohan's wife, Ghita, for whom I have no words, but I shed a tear for her when we left and she honoured my arm with a friendship bracelet.
Women actually. I'm truly fascinated by them anywhere I go. They show their fragility and weakness in the same gestures as they show their power. This I learned from my own mother (even if she might not realise it herself). I strive to be a little bit of every woman I've met in my life. The images below are first of all the Kanjari women leading the dance at Nawaratia festival, reinventing themselves as carefree and wise, living their historical dream of being the dancers for the Maharajas in Rajasthan. The traditional dances have been passed down for generations and are incredibly intense. Sunita, our protegé who's 16 and married off to a village 3 hours away from her family. She wants to be a teacher. Githabai, Sunita's mother and the village leader. She has 10 children and insist on sending them all to school - the boys have all gone to government schools at some point whilst the girls come to us. And lastly, myself and Kalawati, hte younger daughter of Githabai. She attends school regularly and is one of the strongest resources amongst the children.

And while we're talking about women and dancing. Yesterday we attended a wedding in JP. I guess somehow this image speaks for itself. I was coaxed into dancing with this granny who taught me some Indian moves. Earlier in the day, Nanna and I had gone to Meenakshi's Beauty Parlour to prepare, and when I told Meenakshi that I was wearing a traditional Rajasthani lahenga, she styled me up the Indian way. Very glamorous was I. Agreeing to dance with the women in front of the entire wedding party is also part of me learning about them. The only thing really necessary in this situation is the ability to block out the crowd and cameras that follow me whatever move I make. But I seemed to be quite popular - and maybe they laughed, but who cares, Aunty called me the winner of the IDEX team and I had a great time :-)