That’s the thought that ran through my mind as I saw this…
and this…
and this…
But we weren’t royalty – far from it.
We were just an international group of tourists – from France, Morocco, Poland, Italy, Ireland, Australia, China and the United States – riding on the backs of cycle rickshaws in a cyclecade that wound itself through the bustling streets of a North Indian city.
We stood out for sure. Most of our group was fair-skinned except for me, so in addition to the conspicuous formation of rickshaws, the stark contrast of our skin colors compared to the caramel-skinned locals made us hard to miss.
Beside the waving kids, there were older men and women who watched our travel through the towns as well, but since they stood next to the Vesuivan eruptions of child joy, their reactions seemed like contempt, even if it was just merely indifference.
But this wasn’t the first time I had witnessed waving kids during my October 2013 India trip. We had first encountered them as we drove through a rural Rajasthan village in our big “TOURIST” emblazoned bus. And as the children ran alongside our vehicle with short legs that were 10 years away from being able to match our speed, I have to admit that I was somewhat appalled by the waving.
Were they mocking us? I thought.
My mind couldn’t formulate a reason for this behavior, because really, how could any kid get excited as a massive visual blight of a bus rumbled non-stealthily through their town? Knowing that we were tourists, surely they must be acting, playing a part, trying to be the “cute kids” that we see in our travel magazines, right?
Some of the other people in my group were delighted, waving back at the kids and emitting frequent awwws and that-so-cute’s, but I wasn’t fooled. My cynicism had me momentarily convinced that they were like New York kids, hyper-aware and bursting with the desire to unleash irony on the bright-eyed, camera-phone-toting foreigners.
Indeed, my guard was up.
But it didn’t last.
Their smiles, waves and just plain unadulterated innocence is an unstoppable disarming force.
“Hi!” they would say.
“Photo! Photo!” They would shout.
Resistance is futile.