Check out my new iMovie video, which I just posted on You Tube.

In the first four days, it attracted more than 400 views.I used my Nikon CoolPix to shoot the photos on a trip to New Delhi, Varanasi, and Dharamsala, India this past March. Here is a little background.

Back to India

My first time to witness India was in 1996. I was twelve and had a mouth full of braces and blonde hair. From powdered milk to toilet paper, my cousin and I packed everything we could think of. “This was a third world country,” my Mom, would warn, packing me up so tight it hurt to let go.Yet the second I arrived and had my first dose of the chaos of India’s interstate, I would never feel homesick again. Instead, I would take  two more trips, at ages 19 and 22. Each time I would learn prfound truths about the world, humanity and interdependence. It was remarkable.

This March, in a local market, I asked our driver, Rammi, if people minded me taking their picture. He smiled, nodded his head “no” and gave me the warmest reminder of why I love Indians so much. From that moment on, I shot everything I could, always trying to connect with my subjects if just for an instant.

I was on an overnight train to Dharamsala in March when I took this photo. I was up with the sun after a bumpy few hours of sleep in a rickety bunker. To me, there’s not much better than a fresh newspaper in the morning, so I was pleased when the train slowed, pulling into a small station in the state of Punjab, which is known for lush farming fields and a sprawling, green landscape.

In India, there are 14 official languages and dozens more spoken. And that’s just what they can count. In a nation that’s nearly impossible to capture a census, its one billion citizens make it the second most populous nation in the world. The people’s hunger for information and news has propelled the newspaper industry enormously, producing more papers than conceivably possible in the States.

I took this photo of the colorful top folds, ready to be picked apart, devoured, absorbed and thrown to waste where someone else would surely find use for it. I pulled out a handful of rupees and bought three. As soon as I did the train started moving. Turning away from the faces on the platform, I leapt back on, propped the door open and watched as the train picked up speed. For one beautiful hour, I watched villages of people wake up to the sun.