17 April 2010

Minder at Kileswar, Gujarat

You can take the man out of the military, but not the military out of the man

His job was to look after us and make us feel welcome, so he showed us around, took us for long walks in the terrific heat, slashed with his knife at the vicious, thorny vines that threatened to ensnare us, introduced us to the locals, showed us where a leopard lived. He'd been a paratrooper, was proud of it, and had a delightful way of explaining his plans in a way that made them sound like orders.  His English was almost as rudimentary as my Gujarati. He was our friend.

[19 February 2007; Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 105 mm, ISO 400, 1/160 at f5.0]
All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

2 comments:

  1. ... and I feel as if he's going to step out of the screen and into my room.

    I really would like to see an exhibition of your portraits hanging on a gallery wall.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Lesley. If I do manage to get an exhibition together, I'll certainly let you know :^)

    ReplyDelete

Constructive criticism is welcomed (I particularly appreciate thoughts on what you like and don't like), but please keep it courteous.