That is one thing that one must get used to in India. Not all snapshots are done with a smile, and as such - assuming you have been raised to expect a smile in every photo - it makes people look glum. Not that they are sad, it's just that smiling for a photo is not always expected here. And in a way that is more honest, no?
Let's look....
^ Now, Mother Teresa and Gandhiji are both smiling. As people leading a spiritual life, they are remembered as smiling people. Even though Gandhi was not always as attentive a father as he could have been (as depicted in Gandhi My Father, a film we watched a few weeks back), and despite the fact that Mother Teresa had a serious crisis of faith during her years in Calcutta (as discussed at length in the Indian media during our first few months on the ground, very interesting stuff), they are remembered as smiling people. And as such, they are smiling on the poster.
^ Then there is Abdul Kalam. Most of you may know nothing of Abdul Kalam, but when I started to get involved with India, I did some research, and this colorful character was someone I learned a bit about. He is the Father of India's Nuclear Bomb. A Muslim, he is an ardent supporter of India having a strong hand against its enemies, especially Pakistan. He is a brilliant scientist, and an intriguing guy. And he has the coolest hair cut of any Indian politician that I know. But doesn't his smile look a bit diabolical? Almost like it should be with a small chuckle and he would be hear to utter the words "Die you Pak thugs.... hee, hee, hee...."
^ Then there are the faces of politicians, both of yesteryear and today - completely devoid of a smile. I am not sure who any of them are, but they are consistent with each other in their (honest) snapshot of no-smile. Great stuff.
Again, if you come froma culture where every snap must be one in which people look gleeful, despite the fact they may not be, this is a downer - until you come to know that it is ok. They are just fine. You just don't need to smile all of the time.
^ To finish, here are Indu and Padmaja. Padmaja was raised in Arkansas during part of her youth (I really need to sit down with her and have a lengthy talk about what it was like to be "the Indian girl" in Arkansas during the seventies and eighties), and Indu has spent a substantial chunk of her life in the US, including in Charlotte. They have mastered the smile thing, although they are perhaps "first generation snap smilers".
As the world gets smaller, I think the smiles will win, but will that be a good thing? Ho saktha hai.
Time will tell.
By the way, the picture below serves to reinforce our belief that Aidan is an Indian after all.
