Happy Children’s Day!!! (But, what is she talking about?)

 Today, thanks to Google, I remembered learnt it was the Universal Children’s Day, declared by the United Nations. I’m sure you didn’t know that!

There are many children’s days in the world. In India, for example, it is on the 14^th of November, which is my father’s birthday but Jawaharlal Nerhu’s birthday too…

In France, we don’t celebrate children. At least, it may be a good sign; it may mean that most of French kids don’t have so many problems. On other continents, it is a bit more complicated…

But I’m not going to tell you much about the problems of children in the world in India, or wherever, all of us have heard about children’s labour, selective abortions against little girls and so on and so forth.

Here, let’s just have a look at children, beautiful children, smiling children, natural children, moving children…

These pictures were taken during my only trip in India so far. I didn’t realise there were so many children before selecting these photos to write this post.

Children in Bikaner, 2011

I’m amazed at the way children stare at your camera. They strike the pose, they play supermodels, and they don’t really care to see the result. They just want the pleasure to have their image locked up into a little black box.

Old Bikaner 2011, a broom saler

This photo is blurred but is like a bubble of happiness! Look at the pink walls and pillars, the little girl’s pink dress, and the baby with kajal (kohl) around his eyes to protect him from insects,  diseases and  evil eye! The brooms seem to be magic wands!

पुराना बीकानेर में बच्चा और माता

Village near Bikaner 2011

I don’t like this photo. I don’t know why I took it. For a handful of rupies given by the guide to the people, we were allowed to visit a little village in the area of Bikaner. The children were so used to being the prey of tourists’ cameras  that they lined up like little soldiers as soon as we arrived. These children are really beautiful but they look bored and don’t even look at the camera as if they didn’t want us to steal their souls. It is very different from the warm and carefree attitude from most of the children I had met elsewhere in India.

Little girl in the fort of Jaisalmer, 2011

I like this one! The little girl is smiling and her eyes are full of mischief. She is picking a sweet from the saler’s jar. It seems to be a natural gesture, as if she did that very often. She’s sitting on the edge of the stale like at home. The man next to her is pretending to stop her but he seems to have so much tenderness for this little girl that we know she’ll get her sweet!

Pushkar, 2011

I like the pink veils. The two women are looking at the jewels. We girls are all the same, wherever we were born! I like the little girl’s OM shirt! Very fashion!

Lal Qila (Red Fort) in Agra) 2011

These two girls are so fascinating with their big eyes and their strict haircuts! They are dressed in their most beautiful clothes. Visiting Agra is a bit like a special day to them! I would like to meet them again ten years later. I’m sure they will be very good-looking!

On the road to Delhi

Three boys meeting by chance while our bus was going to Delhi. We stopped to take pictures of a sort of stupid bird in the distance, sorts of heron but these kids were much more friendly! I don’t know what they were doing there. Apart from a flock of sheep and a few stacks of dung cakes, there was nothing. They seem to be wearing their school’s shirts? The three of them, are so, so beautiful and so alive!

Lal Qila, Agra 2011

And to conclude, a future Miss India, or a future Bollywood heroine or whoever! She was an elegant and lovely little Mumtaz in the marble part of Shah Jahan’s Lal Qila.

Namaste!