This post is a BlogAdda Spicy Saturday Post.
"Street photography has become a very common thing in
India. Photographers have taken the roads and have captured every single
commoner they find to depict ‘realities’ of India. Regular people going about
their daily lives have become ‘muses’. Meera had taken one such photo, but
there is something special about it. It isn’t what the photographers are doing
as stated above. She took a regular photo of the same person and took another
one after two years. She realised her ‘muse’ was also another human and he
himself enjoyed the attention. Read the post to know more."
Moments of life that are past will never come back. But sometimes
life gives us an opportunity to recreate some moments that can be lived the
same way they were.
I’ve never come across such an opportunity so far. But wait, why
to wait for an opportunity while you can create one. This time I decided to
create a memorable moment for myself and to someone else too. It was a close call, as it involved a bit
of luck and also the timing had to be perfect. I expect you to fall for this
exaggerated build-up of my experience. :P Let me get to the story straight.
Many times, we see some people every day but always they remain strangers to us. We might not have any connection with them other than
exchanging a smile but we still can make their day a memorable one with our
simple gestures.
It was 2013, I used to go for a morning walk in the streets of
Chennai near our home. One day, I saw an Ilani Man (a man who sells tender
coconuts) who I thought was picture perfect for a photo click. His
well-organized coconut cart, his hard working looks, the way he greets his
customers and of course, the style he was slicing the head of the tender
coconuts was all eye catching. On a bright and sunny morning, I went and
had a cool tender coconut. Then I asked him, ‘Can I take a picture of you, Anna?’
He didn’t hesitate and immediately gave me this pose.
He was very happy when I showed the picture and he wanted my
camera for a minute to show it to his Auto driver friends. I gave gladly.
‘Super a irukre da!’, his friends started teasing him for being a ‘Super’
Model.
Then I moved to Bangalore. After 2 years, I visited Chennai last
month. One evening, when I went past the same street, I got to see the same
Ilani Man at the corner of the street. Still selling his coconuts at the same
spot. Standing and slicing the Ilanis for his customers. Only this time he was
a bit older, but his picture perfect setting hasn’t changed. I was glad to see
him again. I knew there’s no big chance for him to remember me. The moment I
saw him still there, I decided to recreate that moment from past. So I held the
surprise for later.
Next day, I walked down to his cart and asked for a tender
coconut. He greeted and started slicing one. He had no idea what surprise
awaited him. I drank the Ilani and before paying him, handed over an envelope.
He asked ‘What is this?’ I asked him to open it up. As he took the content of
the envelope out, his smile widened inch by inch. It was a printed copy of his
photo that I clicked 2 years ago. I said ‘Can you remember me now?’ He was
nodding and told me ‘I’ve posed for many people before and after you, but You
are the only person who gave me a printed copy of myself and my shop. Romba
Thanks ma!’ He was too happy to see his photo printed. And I thanked him in
return for being a model for my clicks. I took another click of him and his
cart and framed that moment.
It was indeed a click to remember. I then signed the photo and paid him for the tender coconut and walked back
with a smile. While he was still looking at his picture. Now I know
that life does not give us everything by chance, sometimes we have to create
chances by ourselves to rejoice the beauty of life.
Super super !! He must be very happy :) kudos to your gesture
ReplyDeleteYeah he was very happy. Thanks Akash :)
DeleteCool. A wonderful experience for you. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletea memorable one too. Thanks for reading, Indrani :)
Deletewhat a lovely experience Meera :-)
ReplyDeleteindeed! Thanks, Archana :)
DeleteThat's such a sweet gesture Meera. Small things sometimes matter a lot, when done with good intent.:)
ReplyDeleteyeah, good intents always bring smiles everywhere. Thanks Somali :)
DeleteHow lovely! Wonderful Meera!
ReplyDeleteYes, his cart is so organized :)
And it remained organized even after a couple of years.. :)
DeleteBeautiful !!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mann. Welcome to my blog :)
DeleteSuch a touching post...I am sure this time he is going to remember you.
ReplyDeleteYou created a moment with him, which I am
sure you will cherish.
Happy write-up!
Sure I will cherish that moment. I was only trying to put my chance to good use. Thanks Alok. :)
DeleteWonderful and sweet experience.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Sriram & Krithiga
Thanks a lot, Sri n Kri :) :)
Deletekeep visiting!
truly an experience to cherish,
ReplyDeleteIndeed it is. Always good to see you here, Shayar :)
DeleteNice post, Meera:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Amit ji :)
DeleteSuch moments of life are treasured, indeed. I find the man's smile more beautiful than any supermodel. And, really hats off to your for printing the picture...a great gesture... (y) :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd he did treat his picture as a treasure. Thanks for reading, Maniparna :)
DeleteSuch moments of life are treasured, indeed. I find the man's smile more beautiful than any supermodel. And, really hats off to your for printing the picture...a great gesture... (y) :-)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful gesture by you. Not many go to that extra length. He must be very delighted and will preserve the photo for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteThat extra effort gave extra smiles. Thanks, Saru :)
DeleteYes, the similarities are there in both the pictures. He looks happier in the second one. Like he said, there are few who think of taking a print and giving it. The smile that comes up at that time is something that we can cherish forever.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the time I distributed the pictures of the people in the market where I go. As the lady went coy and started blushing I clicked again and put that also up in my blog.
http://joezachs.blogspot.in/2010/11/market-place.html
Our simple gestures can make someone's day bright and beautiful. Thanks Haddock :)
DeleteWhat a lovely experience for both of you :-)
ReplyDeleteCherish-able, Thank you Regina. :)
Deletebeautiful gesture! He is gonna remember this for a very very long time :)
ReplyDeleteI have made it a part of my memory too by sharing with everyone here. Thanks, Vaisakhi. Keep visiting! :)
DeleteYour small gesture brought him a lot of joys ... great work :-)
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure to watch his joy. Thanks Amrit! :)
Deletea noble gesture which doubled your joy and his emotions. am sure he would have felt wanted" at that moment. You made his day.
ReplyDeleteIt was a moment of joy for both. Thank you Ajay :)
Delete