Some pictures from a ridiculously hot summer in Bihar

Last week, biwi and I flew to Kolkata and took a train to Jasidih to meet my grandparents. There was no electricity the whole day with temperatures soaring higher than 40 degrees. We were f***ed. The electricity did come later and the AC worked whenever the voltage was good (which was only once in a while). After two days, we left for Patna to see my parents and to attend the thread ceremony of my cousin Palak. There was going to be no AC in Patna (no one lives in our Patna house). We knew we were f***ed real bad.

The ‘we are so f****d’ look on biwi’s face as we wait for our train to Patna. We could not find tickets in an AC coach. That clearly shows.

 

Akarsh, one of my youngest cousins would take my name and jump a few times every time he saw me.

 

Palak gives a cold look to the barber.

 

Mother teases her son.

 

Ma (my ma) catches up with relatives.

 

Ravi uncle, Palak’s dad, remembers his own thread ceremony. I had mine with him. And three more uncles. When I was about five years old. That was like 25+ years ago. F**k.

 

Biwi puts a brave face to hide away the torture.

 

But some tortures are difficult to hide.

 

Palak manages one fake smile for the camera. Mogambo khush hua. Even if for a split second.

 

Sometimes you give up on your own happiness to make everybody else happy.

 

Biwi gets a taste of what it feels like to dance in 40 degrees. Manages to hide the torture again.

 

Anno didi, showed the same dance moves when I went through my thread ceremony 25 years+ ago. Should find her picture of hers from then.

 

Bobby didi danced so much I ended up remembering her dance with her friends on her budday on the song Tu Cheez Badi hai Mast Mast. That was like twenty years ago. Some of her friends from that budday party did show up later that evening. But they didn’t dance of course.

PS: All pictures shot with a Tamron 24-70 f2.8 VC on a Canon 6D.