I Am The Only Human

Tuesday Chris and I finally forced and coerced each other to go visit the United Way of Baroda to see if they needed volunteers.  They did - kind of.  This weekend is the Kite Flying Festival , which, like every other festival, is celebrated extensively in Gujarat.  United Way was putting on a mini kite festival for some 200 disabled children in the area, so we helped a big group of volunteers tie kite strings and write "inspirational" captions on the kites.  My favorite caption (not by me, but only because I didn't think of it first) said "I AM THE ONLY HUMAN" in huge block letters.  I see where this guy was going (I'm only human), but I think you'd agree he fell a little short of the mark.  I think it's better his way, anyway.

Wednesday Little Britain (Chris... because he's British) and I went to some random park we didn't know existed and "helped" the disabled children with their kites.  I use this term loosely, only because I don't know how to fly kites, so the odds of me helping someone else do it are pretty slim.  Most of the kids laughed at me when I tried to help them, and then showed me how to do it.  I gave it up eventually and just walked around and took pictures, which was fine, because all the kids loved having their pictures taken!

 

This kid most certainly didn't need my help.  I think he was born to fly kites. 

 

I was quite fond of this kid... he doesn't seem to be all that fond of me, though.  

 

This boy asked me to take his picture, and then he went into "pensive mode" for his portrait.  

After the excitement of kite flying wore off a little, some of the kids and volunteers decided to put on an impromptu dance party up on the stage.  From what I gather, few Indians can resist the fist-pumping, hip-shaking bass of a classic Bollywood tune. 

 

Coolest volunteers ever.  This could be a still from 'Tees Maar Khan' (which recently flopped hugely in theaters here).  

 

This kid has moves I'd never seen before.  He was the life of the party.  At one point, he sat down, threw his arms into the air, and two volunteers grabbed him and pulled him up on stage, where he proceeded to throw down some serious hip thrusts and robot moves.  Awesome.  

Today (Friday) is the beginning of the Kite Festival, which should be interesting.  I have been told repeatedly to be very careful of my neck.  Apparently every year birds and cyclists alike die from running into the glass-covered kite strings.  I'm not sure exactly how this works, but I'll do some investigative reporting and get back to you.