celebrity
Now I understand and don’t begrrudge celebrities “mean” celebrities their privacy. Being a “gauri” (white) and therefore a celebrity is getting old. Fast. (But, as I’ll note later, the friendly fascinations many people have here, though grating at times, is also one of the most charming aspects of travelling in India — like most things, two sides of the same coin). I had a high fever and massive cold/headache for three days in Gangotri. WHen i finally dragged my woolen-hat-covered self out of bed to go eat “lung fung” soup (Roger I think that is like SubGum) I found a quiet balcony overlooking the Ganges at a loud but pleasant restaurant. Three men shortly appeared and eventually asked for my picture. That involved me smiling, holding their hands, while the other snapped a photo. After they left another one hovered around and tried to make small talk but i pretended i didnt speak any English. Dont get me wrong, I like talking to the poeple here. I had a 15 minute conversation with 2 high school students in hindi and englihs across the restarant. It started with me telling them in hindi not to smoke and we discussed everything from WWF wrestling (a favorite topic), english literacy and american movies. The difference is that those boys were really interested in me and my culture, as i was in them. THe others just wanted a token to show off or whatever. In terms of autographs etc, the constant requests must be much more draining than the real joy (as opposed to quick thrill) given to the recipient. 
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represent the other side of the coin. They were selling flowers and fish food to put in the Ganges in Rishikesh. They smiled and so charmed me by indulging my hindi questions that I bought their flowers, after being reassured that they go to school in the day time. For my video camera they hammed up different faces as i praced — “Machi” (fish), “Koota” (dog –grrr) etc. Sure, they wanted to sell us their wares, who wouldn’t but after that our interaction was genuine and fun. They showed us how to light the tiney flame and showing their small “om” tatooed hands to us.
Tags: India, Travel
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