There she is Little Miss India

I was welcomed to her home by her mother, father, and her little daughter 4 years old- Gaya…what a incredible blessing.. She was the cutest girl. She was like one of those kid you see on Ellen or a talk show who is just so entertaining- singing, answering questions, and dancing. Sharda said, “She can answer any question you ask her in English. She was asking her what is the national bird, who is the president, how many countries are there?”  

This girl was just so precious. It is common for me to hold people’s kids…but when I held this little girl-it just hit different. It was like magical…she just sat there in my arms and I had some maternal instinct hit…it was interesting for myself to feel and witness that… 

Her mother was so sweet offering me some chats and the rasam…they pulled out the photo albums and shared with me the photos of drama. Sharda said in her father’s generation they did not have any televisions so they would dress up and make drama plays themselves- the heavy traditional masks and characters. 

This was absolutely fascinating and I could not believe the detail on these costumes and the masks-it was unbelievable.  This reminded me of my Grandfather’s museum looking at these photos as it focused mainly on local traditions within their village and older Indian plays....to think about people creating their own theater because there was no theater....forget Bollywood-this was the real magic of India!  

It was genetically passed down from one generation to the next to become an actor and it started with the father to Sharda and to her daughter(who was the real diva). Lol  

Unfortunately, her father fell off a ladder 14 years ago and had spine surgery. He was working in construction at the time and now he requires walking sticks...and he has to lay down most of the day because he has chronic pain..ugh my heart was broken hearing him talk about it in broken English,  

  but he still had a smile on his face and said, “I still live. It’s okay.”-the Heart of India....  

Her mother said that if I come over again, she will dress me in a saree and give me all the traditional jewelry and do a photo shoot....She said, they have over 100 sarees to choose from and they both love doing makeup of course...It was really sad that I did not seize this opportunity as I would love to just feel pretty for a day and feel Indian without people saying I’m not Indian.  

Back to this little adorable drama queen, the real tears came when Sharda and I decided to go for tea….Gaya started crying and having a tantrum saying, “Auntie is not going to come back…I won’t see her again, in Kannada.” Omg so it happens again…within minutes. I pick her up and hold her walking down the street to the Chai shop. She stops crying and is immediately content. She had the ability to be a real actress turning her tears on and off very easily-we call this Crocodile tears lol 

Learning about Sharda…Her brother has hearing and speaking loss and lives in Bangalore. He works in the office, but also is a talented artist. He is sooo talented and she proudly flips through all his drawings on her phone and there is one where there is an ear with a window inside, which was part of his dissertation. His ear has a closed window that cannot hear the noise or see it….wow!  

From a young age, his parents saw his talent always walking around with a pencil and notepad and his parents recognized his passion and talent…They enrolled him in art competitions and encouraged him to follow his art. His art was like objects with the shadow in the back (abstract and CHIAROSCURO).  

What made the day a full 360 was when Sharda shared the story about Gaya’s father. It was just like the visit to the NGO....girls being abandoned by their parents, but this was the father. The father did not want a girl so he left both of them and he never has been seen again. I just kept staring at Gaya and I could not believe how any parent, or father for that matter, would leave this child....and just because of her gender being female.  

How is this still happening in 2024 with all of India’s growth and development and society transforming in a more educated and informed way....That judgement was just still present and that was very sad to witness firsthand. She is just an absolute doll( a future Miss. India) for sure.  She did many singing, dancing, and beauty competitions already and she had a very bright future ahead of her I hoped.  

We all walk together down the street towards the main area…I can see how much love she has for her daughter…she says she loves her “too much” and gives her many kisses. We meet a dog named Benz who is from Rajasthan and is now living in Karnataka..the owner said it was very rare to see this breed in Mysore.   

Sharda asks me to come for onion dosa the next day and I tell her that I will try my best....and Gaya looks up at me with her big brown eyes, “See you tomorrow.”  

If anyone is reading this whole blog...there are many spiritual connections and I hope you can see how special traveling is when you meet the most beautiful people with incredible stories.  

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