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June 21, 2005
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:iconcoshipi:
After I'd taken this photograph, I tried to ask in mime (I knew no Marathi, and not much Hindi at that time) whether they minded. The lady on the right laughed, and addressed me in excellent English, asking me if I spoke English.

We had a conversation while they breakfasted, and then they had to get changed to go to work. They took turns to hold a triangular cloth screen out from the post for each other to change inside, and emerged like butterflies from chrysalises - immaculately dressed in beautiful saris.

They both worked as English language secretaries in an import-export business. Yet they were living on the pavement, with all their worldly possessions locked in those two scruffy trunks all day while they were at work.

They were lucky: the sarpanch (village headman, roughly speaking) of the village they came from had lent them the money to pay for their training, and they were expecting to have to work for five or six years to save enough money to pay him back and pay for their own marriages back in their village. They said they could afford to live in some horrible little room (their description) and knew that they'd have to when the monsoon arrived, but in the meantime they preferred to save more money. A friend of theirs didn't have room for them, but had lent them her address; their employer didn't know they were living on the street.

Not everybody living on the pavement is so lucky, of course - for example [link] or [link] - I didn't speak to those people, but I'd be surprised if their story was as happy.

Bombay (Mumbai now) December 1983.
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:icong2manoj:
~g2manoj Aug 31, 2009  Professional Interface Designer
the best thing in you is you have a very good story behind every shot, you are my inspiration sir, hats offf!!
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:icon7ucky:
~7ucky May 8, 2009
:worship::worship::worship::worship::worship:
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:icongooregan:
~Gooregan Mar 12, 2009
Impressive story as well as picture. WoW.
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:iconcoshipi:
*coshipi Mar 13, 2009
Danke. All I've contributed really is remember, over the years, a conversation with two young ladies. What's impressive is the two young ladies.
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:icongooregan:
~Gooregan Mar 13, 2009
You also have the ability to see the right and interesting things - and the open mind to listen. That´s worth a lot.

Thanks for being the chronicler of this story!
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:iconyinni:
~Yinni Mar 11, 2009  Student General Artist
Another hit to the point.
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:iconcoshipi:
*coshipi Mar 13, 2009
:) I wish I was able to capture scenes and stories like this more often!
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:iconwindrift:
~WinDrift Feb 5, 2008
What a heart wrenching story.
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:iconcoshipi:
*coshipi Feb 5, 2008
:) Thank you for your comment!

I actually found this story really heart-warming, rather than heart-wrenching. These two were doing a really good job of pulling themselves up by their own bootlaces - with (more than) a little help from an unusually beneficent sarpanch.
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:iconwindrift:
~WinDrift Feb 5, 2008
I understand what you are saying it is just I have gracndson not too much younger then they are, and I would want so much more for them.
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