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Odisha Part 4: Chilika – Experiencing the lake, in and out of season

My first visit to the Chilika Lake in Jan 2017 was for content for a resort. It was peak season, and I would have loved to stay near the lake, but the brief was to stay at Puri and cover areas that could be visited from Puri. And so, I did the usual touristy thing, taking a boat for half the day. Which is why, on my next visit to Odisha, if there was one thing I was clear about, it was that I wanted to stay near the lake, at least for a day, if not more. However, unlike my first visit, the second was in end of May, and the season was long ended. There would be no birds, I was warned by anyone and everyone I spoke to, including the people at the stays I was considering. But those who know me, know how stubborn I can be, and so I persisted. I eventually decided to stay at two of the Odisha eco-tourism resorts, at Mangalajodi and Rajhans, keen on experiencing the lake, even minus the birds. I had expected it to be hot, but as it turned out, the rains turned out to be even bigger spoilspo...
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Faces in the Crowd - Children

We were at Shegaon, offering our prayers at the samadhi of Shri Gajanan Maharaj, visiting the places related to his life....It is said that the saint first appeared near a Banyan tree, as a young man. It was under the very same banyan tree that I came across these children.



 They were playing around, and when I brought out my camera, eagerly crowded around me, shouting, 'Photu! Photu!" They were making such a lot of noise that I told them that I would click them, if they quietened down, and they did, even if for just a while. And then, while they were up to their antics, posing for the camera, this little girl came up and began looking at us curiously. The boys tried to scare her away, and she hid at once, obviously used to being sidelined by the boys. When I stopped clicking and asked the girl to come forward, they seemed to get the message and calmed down a bit, and the girl finally gathered enough courage to stand at arm's length from the boys. 

When I showed them the photos I had clicked, they asked me if the photo could come out of the camera. When I replied in the negative, they had even more questions - was such a camera very expensive? Just how much did one cost? Why didn't I have a camera which could bring the photo out at once? By then, Samhith was getting restive, and we had to leave. So, I told them that if they wanted a copy of their photo, they could give me their address and I would send them one, but they weren't that interested. But by the time the conversation was over, the girl had disappeared. 

This photo was clicked in a small town in interior Maharashtra, but it could well have been clicked in any part of India - the story would have been almost the same. The boisterous boys, the shy and quiet girls. After all, that is what they are taught and trained to be... girls should be neither be seen nor be heard... and as to boys, well, as they say, if a boy isn't naughty and boisterous, who else will be? It is this thought which is responsible for most of the problems we face in society these days. Wonder when, if ever, that will change! 
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Location: Shegaon, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. Indian BazaarsJanuary 14, 2013 at 6:15 PM

    Nice photograph! These days I get delighted when children see a camera i'm holding and want a photograph. They just keep smiling till you've taken the picture and then (as you said) just disappear!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 14, 2013 at 11:08 PM

      Thanks Kiran! It does feel rather nice, clicking kids who want their photo taken!

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