After the Christmas service I walked around in the courtyard and in the street and watched the people emerge. Some children saw me with the camera and asked for a photo so I took them and soon there was a queue of children all wanting photos. As soon as I would point the camera at them the children would freeze up and stand in a rigid pose.

A woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked for a photo. I obliged and showed her the image in the camera monitor. She said a bunch of words in Telagu so I thought she wasn’t happy with the image. She put her head scarf on and I took another pic and showed it to her. Again a flurry of words in Telagu as she looked at the image. I became frustrated as I just didn’t understand a word she was saying. She could have just been saying that she didn’t like the way she looked in the photo and asking for a copy. Or she could have been asking for money. I assume it was the latter as I saw this woman later receiving the free lunch for the poor. I really couldn’t give the woman any money as it would set a bad precedent and I knew Ravi and Minny were taking care of the poor through their ministry.

All I could say was ‘Happy Christmas’ and shoot a picture of the next person in the queue.