The beanie and the Girl
I took this photo in February 2015 in a small village in Northwestern India, very close to the Pakistani border, in an area called Punjab.
Every time I enter a village with no tourists, I walk through the dirt streets because there are no sidewalks. When someone opens the gate to take out the garbage, or to sweep the ground, they are surprised to see a stranger. Not even five minutes later I turn around and see half of the town behind me. Curious eyes look at me wondering what I am doing there. Grandparents, teens, mothers with babies, children. Right after this, they invite me to their homes to eat chapatis. That day was no exception.
There are no public toilets, so I asked a family if I could use theirs. Inside their humble immaculate house, I met one of their daughters. When I went out to chat with her parents, she did not hesitate to take her favourite beanie and put it on, out of sheer coquetry.
She was so beautiful in that position that I was tempted to photograph her. While talking to her parents, I took the photo with my camera in front of my belly so she would not stop what she was doing. I hoped that the rest was framed. I was then happy to realize it certainly was.
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