Flat Stanley in India

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Day 18:

Stanley has had a fantastic time in India. He toured Jaipur, Rajasthan, and rode on elephants (even though I forgot to take him out from my bag). A shop owner offered to purchase him for 100 rupees.... even though he's just laminated paper, I refused. Danced with traditional dancers at a carnival. Enjoyed Agra until he was confiscated by the Taj Mahal guards, because they thought he was a toy. Visited the Golden Temple, although I should have covered his paper head. And was a conversation piece for many of my encounters in this country... the pictures with him and people are quite amusing and I will have to post them. I'm sure many wondered what kind of crazy woman I am to be taking photos with a paper doll... but I've never seen so many people smile in bewilderment.

This week in the slums, I told the story of Stanley (essentially he was a boy who became flat when a bulletin board fell on him, and thus was able to have many adventures around town... such as flying as a kite and being mailed to California). We created our own Stanleys, but the students drew traditional clothes (kurtas and pyjamas) and named him Bharat (it means India). Flat Bharat toured the neighborhood with the kids and took photos in Papankalan. The students seem excited about their creation, and even "fed" him during lunch time. Wednesday, he is accompanying the students to a restaurant, which will be their first experience. The end of the week I'll be taking some of the Flat Bharats back to New York, for some pictures of the city and will then send them back to Papankalan. I was thinking about making a snapfish book with all the pictures I take.... I think the students and teachers would appreciate it.