The train ride.

I was supposed to get off at Marine lines to meet a friend when I got on a first class compartment on the Mumbai local.

At the exit stood 4 girls riding the train to school. None of them noticed me when I raised my camera to capture their easy comaraderie from behind them. The train was shaking a lot (the tracks from Charni road get choppy), so I lowered my camera to open up the aperture & compensate for the blurring. When I looked up again, one girl stood much ahead of of the rest. She wanted her picture taken.

The image above says the best I could capture of her eager innocence. Of course they got off at Marine lines & I missed my stop.

Shobha & Mithoba.

Shobha's a farm laborer. One of many in Maharashtra (India) that live in small huts on the farms they and their spouses work on.
She keeps her parrot in a cage so small, his tail grows out crooked. It's the best she can afford. The parrot (Mithoba) imitates the calls of the farm peacocks and laughs raucously afterward. He loves peanuts and green chillies & makes straight for Shobha's modest kitchen each time he's released. She's the only one who can hold him. He keeps the neighbors entertained.