Another milestone in 500 Days Journey
Ashok Kochhar –
Travellers are authors, weaving stories, as they go along their journey.
They share their tales and adventures, writing and speaking about the various people they meet or observe.
My story as a traveller has just begun. It is the story of a land, full of surprises on ground and up in the sky. It promises to be magical at every step.
I have already met many wonder-filled souls and being a friend to several of them, I have rich experience for the storyteller in me.
As I am currently in Waikato, it is my prime passion to capture my first story in this region, which is one of variation. It is a place that has a lot to offer, and is a small world, beautifully knit together by Nature.
An exciting expo
Through this article I wish to share one of the event out of hundreds, ‘The Gypsy Fair.’ Although there are many independent groups of Gypsy Fairs, I followed a couple of them.
Over the close interaction with the gypsies, one learns about their life and lifestyle. There are a few who have been travelling for last 30 years leading a happy life.
The whole group lives like a family, reaches its destination a day before and does the setups. The people have a team leader and a small committee to decide on new entrants. They act as a tribe in which everything is done as a community.
Portrait artist
One of the gypsy ladies, who makes her living by sketching portraits, mentioned about her four sons, all of who are well established and engaged in creative ventures. She was excited to visit them over the Christmas holidays.
She is 78 years old and manages herself independently. But her vivaciousness and charm was that of a young lady, exploring life’s initial chapters.
She often gifts the portraits to people she likes, and I was one of the few lucky ones.
Another person I met was a horse rider for over two decades and is now a musician. He is a happy soul pursuing his passion in music and woodcarving.
Free and strong
I saw many free-spirited, strong individuals, who were living life as it came, and living on their own terms. Their zest for life was almost infectious, and everyone could not help but smile in the presence of such enigmatic people.
For more pictures of the ‘Gypsy Fair,’ please visit Communitylink of our Web Edition (www.indiannewslink.co.nz), Ashok Kochhar is a lensman of a million or more pictures taken perhaps on as many occasions, covering the world in a frame. Now a resident of New Zealand, he has embarked on a unique journey of the country, capturing its flora, fauna, mountains, rivers and most importantly, sea of people in their vicissitudes.
The journey is his new project covering 500 or more days.
He calls it ‘An Indian Newslink initiative.’
