If you have been following along up to this point, you may have noticed that so far all of the “strangers” on this site have been male. Part of this project is getting the courage to start a conversation with a stranger on the street and ask to take their picture. For a foreign male in a conservative part of India, not speaking the local language, this can easily result in offense. But I finally took the plunge when I saw Kupu, selling limes from her spot on the side of the road.
I was in the process of asking to take her photo when a one-eyed man suddenly came up to me and insisted I do just that. She was accommodating, and nonchalantly continued to chew betel nut and pile her limes as I crouched down at her level and snapped photos. When I showed her the photo above, she broke into a huge smile and insisted I accept a couple of limes. Of course, I felt bad and gave her fifty rupees for the limes (an excessively generous price, it seems). I continued on my way, and a couple of minutes later, she tugged on my sleeve from behind and insisted I take three oranges in addition. Nothing could talk her out of this.
UPDATE 24 Feb: I stopped by to see Kupu a few months later and brought her copies of her photo These are some images that capture her response to receiving photos of herself:
