Walking along the waterfront, along the ghats of the River Ganges at Varanasi, I observed a young girl on the porch of a dwelling petting her pet parrot. I immediately recognized the parrot species as a Cockatiel (zoological name Nymphicus hollandicus for those that are interested in that stuff), a native Australian parrot species but widely kept around the world as a caged pet. Quite apart from the parrot though, I was drawn to the brightly coloured frock and the posture or “gesture” of the girl.
It’s often suggested that it’s best to ask the permission of anyone before photographing them, but in this instance, the photo was dependant on the girl being engrossed in what she was doing and being unaware of the camera. Hence her demeanour was completely unaffected. Hopefully, I’ve managed to capture a moment and maybe got a brief glimpse into her still innocent life.
