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this is paawan singh and he works in a sweet shop just outside tripoli
gate in jaipur. some years back when i went to the pink city on my first trip,
i'd taken a photograph of this man. i visited the city again this september and accidentally stumbled upon him while having
some watermelon
juice.
struck by a strong sense of deja vu, i moved towards this familiar figure in the same shop,
with the same helper living that same life with the same zest and
optimism. i timidly asked him if he remembered me from eight years back. yes,
he reminded me that i'd taken his photograph and cheerfully pointed
out that i hadn't mailed him the photo as promised. after
which he took permission from the owner of the shop to offer me some
sweets and gave these to me with his address. as i was leaving he squeezed my
shoulder and with amused crinkly eyes said he knew i'd
forget again.
some
days back i mailed him this photograph and the new one that i took on
this trip - (not) suprisingly they both look almost exactly the same.
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to me
this man represents all that is india - its timelessness, its
hospitality, its rock-solid belief in its own place in the scheme of
things and its ability to take things as they come without malice.
if i go to jaipur again, and i know i will, and i know he will still be there,
that day i'll show him this photograph - this time on a computer screen
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