Please, won’t you smile? (Part 3 of 3)
On the same jeep safari as in the last entry, I had yet again another instance with this smiling dilemma. This time though, I realized, or should I say, “experienced” the answer to why this was happening.
I was invited into a small hut where I saw this woman and her family. She expressed no concern with being photographed, but as in the previous instances, she would immediately stop smiling once I raised my camera. I lowered my camera just a bit and gave her a big smile. I then pointed to my grin in a friendly manner. She began laughing for just a brief moment during which I was able to take this shot. I showed her this second photo on my digital camera and she was thrilled to see it. I then had to go to a nearby gypsy dance and said goodbye to them (side note: there will be another series of entries on gypsies in India… quite a fascinating topic as well). As I was leaving that village about 20 minutes later, these young boys came running to me with an antelope horn. They told the guide that this was a thank you gift from the woman I photographed earlier. My guide was surprised by this gesture and mentioned to me that this was very uncommon for a woman to do.
I’m certain that this woman’s gift was an expression of gratitude for appreciating her smile. Living in an extremely patriarchal society, women are forced to suppress their thoughts and emotions. Most of the remote desert villages in India fit into this category. In fact, one village we visited still practiced female infanticide. These women weren’t self-conscious of smiling. They were self-conscious of expressing anything at all. Hence the blank, cold expressions I received initially.
In America, self-expression is encouraged from the day we are born. Freedom to express oneself implies equality and independence. Yet these two attributes are most assuredly looked down on for women in patriarchal societies. With this experience being almost three years ago, I sometimes like to wonder what these women are doing at this very moment. They’re most likely going to the well for water, restoring their mud huts, tending crops or cooking. Whatever it is, I hope they’re smiling.
If you would like to read more about this day, click here for the travel blog entry.
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2 Responses to “Please, won’t you smile? (Part 3 of 3)”
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It’s amazing what we sometimes take for granted in this country. I enjoyed this series, not only for the shots that you took but also for your travel commentary and insights. You mentioned infanticide, with this practice, what is the proportion of men to women that you observed in these remote areas? I’m looking forward to more of your entries. Thanks again for sharing.
Hi Pete. That’s a good question. Roughly 10 millions girls have been killed in the last 20 years by female infanticide. This disproportionate ratio of boys to girls greatly threatens the future of India. In my travels through rural India, I noticed that the gender ratio was specific to each village. Two villages may be only a few miles apart, but their views on this issue can vary drastically.