Me and the Kerala babies...

After my cousin Babi's wedding on my 2nd to last day in India, we were sitting on the patio outside the Parish Hall waiting for the reception to begin. In the small space between the church and hall was snuggled a English-Malayalam medium nursery school. I had noticed kids there, and asked Mummy if I could go to visit... but she warned me that if I left her side I'd get lost in the crowd of 1500 at the reception, and most importantly, not get a place to sit for lunch. It was a risk I happily accepted, and I headed down the yard to the school's window.

A few children noticed and came to the window of their classroom, where they appeared to be just coming back from lunch. I was staying hello and shaking hands though the window while they called "Aunty, Aunty!!" at me; but one saucy fellow flashed a million dollar grin and yelled, "Hi Chechi!" (big sister)

A few spilled out onto the porch... and the closer I got, the more came.

Suddenly I was surrounded. A teacher and a sister (nun) came out to supervise. Communication was minimal but not really necessary, as I was ready to pack them all into my suitcases after they performed a heartbreakingly sweet rendition of "Are You Sleeping", complete with hand motions. I clicked a few photos, and then thought it would be nice to be in a photo with them myself. Passing the camera off to the sister and seeming school head on the porch, I asked if they could "snap a photo" and posed, not realizing that all the kiddies were still staring and chattering away in my direction. How to get them to face the camera? After a few futile attempts at pointing forward and "photo, photo!" from me, they still didn't get the concept. Realizing they're just little kids and that I had the Malayalam vocabulary of an even smaller one, I had an idea on how we'd communicate. Using one of the very very very VERY few Malayalam words I knew, I threw my hand up in the air and triumphantly shouted, "kai!" The sister smiled with understanding, and one by one, I saw little hands fly into the air. "Kai in the sky!" I shouted again, making a game of it, and then waved...




Then thought I'd try showing the kids their photos on the digicam's display screen... but suddenly 35 little children were hopping up and down shouting "endhu, Aunty, endhu?" (what is it?) I just couldn't keep up :-)

Perhaps my presence was missed at the reception by the photography crew (doubtful as guest number 143 of 1500); more likely, someone came out to smoke and noticed me surrounded by children just a few yard away... but either way, this shot was caught from the steps of the Parish Hall.