BHUTAN | Friday, 5 July 2013 | Views [476] | View Smaller Image
The old lady who smelled of alcohol - Bhutan was the happiest country I've ever seen. A country without red lights (though Thimpu, the capital, tried to introduce them once, they were soon dropped after protests from people), without arguments and without an overly exaggerated sense of ambition. The people were happy, genuinely, no matter whatever little or big they did, they went on about their lives calmly, without being particularly bothered about the world outside, and were very religious. I found this old woman, or rather she found me, outside a temple in Thimpu. As she came near me, my nostrils were filled with the alcohol on her breath, and yet, she smiled unabashedly, pointing to the camera suggestively. I took a few shots of her and when I showed them to her, she instantly burst into a laughter which resembled a 20-year old young girl, obviously flattered and turning crimson. It took her sometime to stop laughing and get ready for the next shot. After that, she tried explaining me something that I failed to understand, so she walked away smiling. I am yet to meet a more friendly stranger who left me feeling like I had met my favourite model.
Tags: travel photography scholarship 2013
