Sing for your supper

[zafra52]

[the foto fanatic]

Hi Zafra

I have looked at this image many times now and I am uncertain what to make of it.
There are elements within it that make me uneasy.

I can only assume that the woman is begging and perhaps putting on some sort of a show to get money or food. The additional component of the listless child makes the image more pathetic and more troubling. I find it hard to look at it for too long.

As a reportage photo it tells a very disturbing story. I think it would be easier to deal with if you gave us more information and context.

Without any background though, it is very difficult to assess the image on any level other than an emotional one.

Which may be exactly as you intended.

[gstark]

Trevor,

I know what you mean.

I'm led to believe that it's called "art".

[zafra52]

Thanks for your comments. You are guessing correctly for this lady, her
husband and another girl approached our tour when we were watching the
sun setting over a dune in the Rajasthan dessert. I titled the picture Sing for
your supper because it is exactly what this lady was doing and the impression
I got for them is that they were performing, not begging - in the strict sense
of the word.

The husband started to play some native music instruments, a young boy helped
him, the lady started to sing waking up the baby in her lap and the girl started
to dance. This family seemed to live in the area (Pushkar). At the end of their
performance, we all put our hand in the pockets and gave them the equivalent
of one dollar, which times 30 is quite a lot of money in India for a 10 mins
entertainment. I believe that if they were willing to perform and let us photograph
them they were entitled to be paid.

I commonly saw in India beggars with trained babies begging tourist. This was
not one of those occasions although the baby was clearly visible. While it was
there because they could not leave it behind or was part of the performance
strategy I cannot say. Once they performed and received payment, they moved
on to another group of tourist.

[zafra52]

Other pictures of the said family...