TRAVERSE 147
TRAVEL - INDIA
LEIGH WILKINS
A TEN DOLLAR LESSON IN TOLERANCE
Cheering erupted from nearby onlookers , I ’ d just been convinced to hand over more money and in the most charming way possible .
“ More ,” an out thrust hand suggested this had been serious , and I ’ d obliged the middle-aged woman who had insisted I photograph her . I couldn ’ t resist the forceful charm and had turned one hundred rupees into six hundred in the blink of an eye . Bloody hell , ten Australian dollars for a photo , the most I ’ d ever paid , anywhere .
Essentially I don ’ t mind paying for the privilege of photographing a complete stranger , if this were a model it would cost hundreds perhaps thousands more , and let ’ s be honest , local faces are far more interesting than some bored looking twenty-something year old who is only after fame and equally fortune . The ten dollars provided information that was worth well more than its paper value .
The lady , at a fuel station just outside of Pune in India , had suggested we take a ride to the Ellora Caves . I ’ d looked at her with scepticism , a cave ’ s a cave , right ? A hole in the ground with , if you ’ re lucky , a few things hanging from the ceiling and maybe some growing from the floor . No , she ’ d insisted that Ellora Caves were special and needed to be viewed .
Obliging yet again , we ’ d agreed to visit the caves but weren ’ t holding hope of anything new . A lesson learned , always listen to the local people .
The following day we ’ d made our way the three hundred or so kilometres from Pune , through a sort of farmland that gave way to hills and monuments . The heat and humidity were oppressive , our clothing clung like a wet blanket . This was the height of monsoon season and this land on the edge of
TRAVERSE 147