Lady in Pink

It may not have the lustrous textures of Rembrandt's 'Woman with a Pink', but my 'Lady in

Pink' is a whole world away from 17th century Holland, although a 17th century viewer

would probably recognise her mode of transport. The calm of the Kerala backwaters is one

of the delights of the State (being a 'dry' state is not another one). This woman being

taxied by a fellow in a dugout canoe was spotted at extreme telephoto range from a

tourboat on these famous backwaters. The juxtaposition of colours couldn't have been

more fortunate - almost as if she were employed by the State Tourist Office as a

peripatetic pink to offset the ubiquitous green for people like me. Other implications of this

shot aren't quite so appealing: 'backward' villages, wooden dugouts, serfdom? Or is it just a

simple water taxi, the man happy to earn his living like this? Being India, of course, it could

be that his caste only allows him to work this way.

Saw my first water snake here, swimming gaily past the boat, head held high. Later that

day my Fuji digital camera packed up. Possibly something to do with the heat, but I don't

think getting caught in a tropical downpour helped much.

It may not have the lustrous textures of Rembrandt's 'Woman with a Pink', but my 'Lady in

Pink' is a whole world away from 17th century Holland, although a 17th century viewer would

probably recognise her mode of transport. The calm of the Kerala backwaters is one of the

delights of the State (being a 'dry' state is not another one). This woman being taxied by a

fellow in a dugout canoe was spotted at extreme telephoto range from a tourboat on these

famous backwaters. The juxtaposition of colours couldn't have been more fortunate - almost

as if she were employed by the State Tourist Office as a peripatetic pink to offset the ubiquitous

green for people like me. Other implications of this shot aren't quite so appealing: 'backward'

villages, wooden dugouts, serfdom? Or is it just a simple water taxi, the man happy to earn his

living like this? Being India, of course, it could be that his caste only allows him to work this

way.

Saw my first water snake here, swimming gaily past the boat, head held high. Later that day my

Fuji digital camera packed up. Possibly something to do with the heat, but I don't think getting

caught in a tropical downpour helped much.

Lady in pink