Return to India, Part 3: My Facebook friend, Ramz, her mischievous brother, her nationally recognized achiever mom, her dad at the wheel
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 6:49PM ;)
You have heard the old adage, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." Be certain, Niece Ramya Srivinas, "Ramz," is not a squeaky wheel. She is not complaining about anything and she is not a nuisance. She keeps a pleasant demeanor. The smile on her face is for real. She is fun to be with and to communicate with. Yet, as I always do, I took all kinds of pictures in India and shot many little vignettes. I will get to some of them, and some of them I will never get to - most of them, in fact - there are just too many and time is too short.
I am pretty certain I would have gotten to this vignette of Ramz and family, because we are Facebook friends and Ramz sends me a few pokes, every day. I would have remembered and I would have gone back and found these images at some point before I finished the series - but probably not for awhile yet. I took these pictures shortly before those of us who rode the train departed Bangalore to Pune. When we arrived in Pune, I found a Facebook message from Ramz asking to see the pictures.
This kind of thing is simple with most people, because by comparison they don't have that many pictures to sort through, prepare and post as I do, and they don't spend the time with the individual images that I do, either. It is not simple with me. I have a continual river of photogaphs to deal with and it can be very hard to reach in and snatch particular images out of it.
I promised Ramz I would get them sooner or later. A bit later, I got another request from her, and another after and still one more. And every time I see a poke from her on Facebook, I think about these photos and how she wants to see them. So here they are, Ramz.
;)
This is Ramz' little brother, Rajeev. He is famous across southern India and even worldwide for being very mischievous. This is so, because of the appearances he makes on Ramz's Facebook page. Indeed, Ramz does have readers across Southern India and worldwide - I, for example, am one of her world-wide readers.
So, truly, he is famous worldwide.
And now his fame grows a little more.
;)
I was a little boy once and I still remember how it felt to be taken onto the lap of a beautiful woman relative or family friend who would hug and smooch me and tousle my hair.
It was damned embarrassing... and yet... something about it... quite nice!
I think Rajeev is embarassed - I think Rajeev finds it quite nice. Even as he struggles to get away, he enjoys the attention and affection.
;)
This is Lalitha Srivinas, mother to Ramya and Vinu. Right after the wedding, at a function in Mumbai to honor Indian women of achievement in conjunction with the International Women's Day, Lalitha received the number 1 Women Achievers of India award from the State Bank of India.
Lalitha has developed innovative ways to help the visually impaired read and cope with daily life - and with banking. She is visually impaired herself.
I do not know if there is a photographer gene, but, just as Ganesh is, it appears to me that Ramz may well be a natural-born photographer. She is continually changing her Facebook profile picture - mostly with self-portraits - and many of them are amazing - glamourous, even.
And I see promise in the fun and creative pictures that show up in her Facebook albums.
So here she is, Ramz - the Amazing Self Portraitist - standing in the night street light.
But where is her mischievous brother, Rajeev?
;)
There he is!
;)
And there he goes! Rajeev - the Mischievous One.
;)
Rajeev waves goodbye.
;)
Dad is at the wheel.
;)
Off they go. They were not able to come to Pune for the wedding. I have seen none of them since - but I bet if I go to Facebook right now, I will find a poke waiting for me from Ramz.
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