Being asked for my photo is a totally new experience for me. Having it happen while we visited the sights of Delhi was unexpected, that it happened several times was baffling.

We hired a car and driver to visit some of the sights of Delhi. Our driver Harish was delightful. He navigated the clogged streets expertly, telling us the it was not so busy because it was Sunday and offices were closed. We visited the India Gate, the Lotus Temple, Humayan’s Tomb, Gandhi Smriti, and Qutub Minar.

What I particularly enjoyed was that we were among only a few Westerners touring the sites. Harish told us that local people come to these sites on Sundays as do many tourists from all regions of this big country. The intensely hot Indian summer is about to begin, so people were out enjoying the milder 30C+ weather.

The first photo incident was at the Lotus Temple. Ken was about to snap my photo as a group of young men walked by. Seeing Ken point the camera, one jumped into the picture. Then his friends did too and they started taking pictures of each other with me. It was all done with lots of laughter and smiles. What was that all about, we wondered?

Then it happened again, but this time it was a straightforward request from a young woman in a sari for a photo of Ken and me. It happened several more times, sometimes for both of us, sometimes just me.

The final request came at Humayan’s Tomb. This time the woman was dressed in a bright yellow sari and she was accompanied by several other women and children all dressed in bright colours. Her English wasn’t good, but when she eventually understood that I was asking why she wanted my photo, she said “for my home” and made a gesture indicating a wall. She was not from Delhi, but I didn’t understand the name of the area she’s from.

Funny to think my photo will now be part of someone else’s traveling anecdotes.