While I was taking pictures of cows sleeping on the beach, Marc was drawing. This friendly group surrounded him and started asking questions excitedly.
They plied us insistently with cigarettes, wanting to offer hospitality. They claimed that even they did not smoke, only once a month on vacation – at MOST once a week!
They stood very close to us, one guy actually leaning on Marc the whole conversation. They wanted a description of Toronto, what is it like? How many months is the weather below 0 degrees? They were surprised that there are also very hot summers.
They asked what we liked the most about India, and I said people, and they were gleeful.
But, seriously, one asked again, why did we come to India?
“To talk to you, the boys from Hubli, of course.”
They thought this was hilarious, and were also nearly misty eyed at the essential truth of the answer.