The Ramblings of Joy Laking: March 10, 2014, Pushkar, India

Well today was a great day and a challenging day. Jim and I have pretty much been together for the past eight weeks, and we're still having fun together and we haven't had any arguments! He must be saint. Anyways, today Jim took the day to read and wander around Pushkar and I got our driver to take me to a village, Gisanfula, where there were no tourists and no one who spoke any English.

The driver was didn't think it was safe and gave me all kinds of warnings. I am old I told him. Just let me out and pick me up in seven hours. When he asked me if I wanted him to wait, I did agree that that would be best, just in case there were problems. I got the driver to ask a man if I could sketch him! The man agreed to be drawn and I was on my own for the rest of the day.

After painting a bunch of men and giving them each their sketches, I set off through the village.

I met these three girls, and with sign language one of them wanted me to come to her home.

Off I went. It was a privilege to meet her mother and her son and her sisters and brothers and to see inside a tiny one room house. No furniture of any kind and the kitchen is outside. There was bedding on a shelf.

They insisted I eat cookies and I sketched everyone and gave them each the sketch of themselves.

About this time things went down hill. It started pouring rain and there was thunder and lighting and the old mother threw her sketch on the floor because she thought it was so awful and then one of the three initial girls did the same thing. Luckily everyone else was happy.

Someone put a baby click that was wandering around the house down my blouse. I put on my plastic poncho and smiled goodbye, I took my leave.

At this point some, boys insisted that I come into their yard. There were pots on a shelf in the wall, and I started a quarter sheet painting. As I was doing this a photogenic old man plunked down in front of me and so I started a quarter sheet painting of him.

By this time, I was surrounded by a big bunch of kids and a couple of adults. Everyone wanted something from my bag and my pockets. After I lost my water bottle and my cough drops, I decided to stop painting and after smiling goodbye, I took my leave.

At this point, I was beckoned into a yard by an old woman with a great face. She sat me down and then pointed to my camera. I obliged and took her photo. Then she insisted on money. I deleted the photo, and showed her no photo/no money. I managed to smile while leaving.

Then thunder and lightning started again and it began to pour. I was actually releaved to cut two hours off my painting day. I found the driver and car near the road and set off for home. On the way home, the driver tried scam me out of money. We had asked him to get us four beers because he said you couldn't buy beer in Pushkar. He got a box of twelve and said that they were 1000 rupees each. When I said that 1000 rupees was rediculous. He said okay 500 rupees each. I told him we bought beer yesterday in a restaurant yesterday in Pushkar for 200 rupees. Okay he said, you give me what you think it's worth. I gave him 2000 rupees and he said that two beer were paid for. After ten minutes of silence by me in the back seat of the car, he said okay, he was only kidding, please forget everything! Will we happily survive another two weeks with this driver? His driving is good, which is a huge relief but the scams are constant.