Children are so spontaneous. The worries of the world don’t worry them. They do not care or do not know whether Obama or McCain is going to be the next president of the US. They do not know the LOC between Pakistan & India – but they know how to laugh. They know how to spontaneously smile when you smile or make faces at them. They know how to be happy in small things – a tree climbed, a chocolate relished, the company of friends, running freely, shouting at the top of their voices, ……. They are the children of God.
The children in the camp are no different. Maybe they have no home to return to, maybe their belongings have been washed away – but they can still smile. Maybe you call it ignorance of the facts of life. But they know how to cry too – when they do not get what they want, when they are hungry, when their parents scold or beat them – but they live life moment to moment.
Whenever I went to the camp there was a bevy of children following me around. Shoving and shouting to be in front, to be closest. They would say “Pranam Swamiji” when they saw me and beg me to take a photograph of them or during Diwali – give them a cracker or just play with them – even the smallest coming up for a pat on the head.
Some of the faces I was able to capture, many I was not. A few of the faces of God. They have a custom here – they do not cut the hair of even the boys till they are of a certain age – so some who you are sure are girls are boys!
— Nijamrita
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