India: Two Weeks of Fame

Hi again from Darjeeling. I know I left off saying I'd discuss the ride up here but I have to mention one other strange thing here first.

Indian tourists love to take pictures with white people. It's fairly odd. I was first approached for a photo op at the Taj Mahal, by a group of sightseeing Indian guys. I was hesitant at their primary request, but finally acquiesced. There were about five of them, and they didn't just want a photo with their group and I, they wanted a photo of me and every individual member of their group. So I posed for about five photos. Laughing, I said goodbye as they thanked me and walked on, thinking perhaps they were a strange anomaly. I was wrong. Not long after, I was approached by another group of Indian guys who requested the same thing. "We are Indian, and you are not," explained one guy upon photo request. I laughed and went along with the whole thing again.

By the time another group of Indian guys approached me yesterday at Tiger Hill, I had figured out that wanting to take pictures with white girls was apparently the norm in this country. And it's not just men that want pictures with you, but girls and young women as well. Shopping on the streets of Darjeeling last night, this young Indian woman approached me giggling, and introduced herself. "You want a photo?" I asked, and she said yes and we posed. Laughing, she tried to explain in broken English why she wanted a photo. "I am black," she said, "and you are white. Thank you." I burst out laughing. So strange. She's not even black she's Indian but I suppose that's beside the point. The point is, in fact, that if you are white and want your 15 minutes of fame, come to India. They will be asking for photo ops like you are Angelina Jolie or something. You just might get your time in the sun, before you have to go back home and go back to being just another face in the crowd.