We're guests at the home of Peter's teacher Ustad Sultan Khan in Jodhpur where kids are around all the time, hanging out or playing music a good part of the day. They never seem bored even when sitting around for long periods. They regularly drop in to see what we're doing. They like to hang around while we eat, and not in a bothersome way... just kind of keeping us company. Then they ask to have their pictures taken... the camera is a total kid magnet like I've never seen before. If I pull my camera out in any crowded area, kids will flock around, begging to be on camera, then see the picture immediately afterwards to make sure they look good. Their favorite look is very cool, not smiling, slightly serious, I'm-ready-for-Bollywood pose that is hard to resist. But once they're warmed up, its a free-for-all and I can hardly walk away. I took many photos of them, to their delight and mine. The kids (and most people here) are incredibly friendly and outgoing. Most kids know some English and we get by with a few words of Hindi mixed in and some sign language... it's really quite fun. In fact just about everywhere we go, kids are fascinated with us and the fact that we look different. They wave and sometimes just stop and stare, mouths agape, but mostly they walk or even run up to us, ask our names and where we're from and want to shake our hands as if we're royalty. When I say we're from the US the awed response is often in the name of some Hollywood movie star who visited their town in the last few years. The movie star thing is a big deal here. In fact, one of the Khan families in Jodhpur, who spend a lot of time around the Khan house, has four boys, each named after a big Bollywood star: Salman, Sharuk, Amir and Saif Ali.
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