I love this photo, to me it is a quintessential image of India and a call back to days gone by, I think McCurry would give it the nod!
The image also holds some more personal relevance. It has been a month since the Journey back to Mauritius to visit the family, and the kick off of my project exploring my own family its roots and its destinations. Whilst talking with family about the passed and researching into the family tree, it came to light that my Great Grandfather was originally from Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu.
As fate would have it, Pondicherry had always been on my 'to visit' list for India but in 11 years I had not made it, but I had planned a trip to visit a couple of weeks after returning from Mauritius for another project I was working on.
I believe things happen for a reason...So I made it to Pondicherry and did some exploring. No connection has been found to family traces at this point, but the search will continue as the project continues. I could not help but wonder about my forefather's experience, back in the 1870's living in a French colony in India and then one day boarding a boat bound for a strange land at the age of 7.
It maybe a cliched photo to some, but I find it somewhat romantic and brings to life a past world in my families history. The project continues as does the research and travel, keeping reading. Keep up to date on the journey follow me on Instagram @francisminien