639 - 21st - Waiting for the waves

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 21st July'10

634 - 18th - In the midst of the stream

521 - 20th - Running behind the balloon

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 20th May'09

459 - 29th - In her own world

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 29th Mar'09

Away from all the worries, all the tensions and all the sadness, children have their own little sweet world where everything is made of chocolate and where every small thing they do bring a cheer to their faces and smiles to everyone around them. They devote themselves completely to what they do and always seem to be lost in a dream of their own.

This small girl was lost in making her sand lumps in one such similar way. She was sitting knee deep in sand and was shaping heaps of sand with her small tiny hands. Oblivious of what is going around her, she continued with her "construction" with a cute little smile on her face.

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453 - 23rd - Royal treatment

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 23rd Mar'09

Childhood is a time when you get some serious royal treatment. You cry once and you have a queue of people waiting to attend you. You don’t need to eat yourself, bathe yourself and even walk yourself ;) Everything is taken care by the “elders” around you. You just need to cry/scream or make weird noises and it is done.

This child was enjoying one such treatment. Just lying down and relaxing in his basket, not concerned with what is happening around him, he was enjoying his royal ride.

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332 - 12th - Building sand castles

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Nov'08

Building sand castles - this is something I have never done in my life. The biggest reason for that being that I never came in contact with the sea until I was 15 and then perhaps it was too late to do such stuff. But when I saw this kid playing with wet sand, I couldn't stop myself from just staring at what he was doing. I observed him for nearly half an hour; the way he was building small heaps of sand and the way the waves from the ocean used to wash it away every couple of minutes.

I think it's never too late to do something ... maybe I should spend a day at a beach building my own castles of imagination.

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324 - 4th - Daring the waves

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 4th Nov'08

These children seemed to be enjoying the splashing waves of the sea while being under the shade of the huge rock. I was sitting there and observing them for quite some time. Each time they would see a wave coming, they would yell at their father to be ready to click a photo. I don't know if he succeeded, but I definitely got this one after at least ten to fifteen attempts.

It's not that easy to catch that huge wave right in the air !!!

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247 - 19th - Splash !!!

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 19th Aug'08

This is something I really want to do & a place where I really want to spend a whole day; being with my friends, out in the jungle, perched on high rocks and diving into a running stream of water. I always wanted to go to such a place and enjoy in the lap of mother nature.

When I saw these kids living my dream, I realized that maybe I am too old to do all this stuff now, or am I ?

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243 - 15th - Pedro

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 15th Aug'08

I met Pedro at a small restaurant in Cuetzalan, Mexico. It was morning and we got into this small restaurant to have breakfast. We were having a look at the menu when he came to our table and asked us if we are interested in visiting his town which is near to Cuetzalan and is a nice place to see. That way he would earn some money too. Since we had only a couple of hours to be at the place, we told him its not possible for us to go. Then he asked us if we can give him some money for breakfast. Instead of giving money, we invited him to have breakfast with us, for which he agreed with a sparkling smile on his face.

We sat with him for almost an hour, engaging ouraelves deep into some sweet child-talk. He asked a lot of qustions to me; about myself, about India, about my family and many other things. He was not at all uncomfortable in talking to us & had a sweet smile on his face all the time.

That was really a memorable breakfast with a sweet little soul.

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182 - 15th - As if I'm dreaming

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 15th June'08

I was sitting and observing this group of children for a long time. The sheer happiness & the vivid expressions on their face made me forget everything and just stare at them. They took me into a third world, free of all worries and sadness, where I too was a kid, void of all earthly attachments.

When I clicked the photo, it was as if my thoughts had just descended into the camera.

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97 - 22nd - Bundles of Joy

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 22nd Mar'08

I was having a casual evening walk when I saw this cute little girl running here and there around the side-walk. She was actually running to & fro between her parents, waving her hands in the air & shrieking every now and then. I silently took the nod of her mother to capture her into my camera and then took a couple of shots. But just as I took the second one, she noticed me and became conscious.

Kids do really take my heart away.

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18 - 3rd - Little Artists

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 3rd Jan'08

I went back to my school days on seeing these young painters, when I used to be so excited about the yearly drawing & sketching competitions. I used to think about the topic a week in advance and used to make sure that I have the correct set of colors and drawing material before I leave from my home.

I saw these kids, at a local mall, painting on their cute little canvasses with utmost sincerity. There was such an evident innocence and purity on their faces which just made me stand there and admire them.

Running along with the fast pace of life, I left somewhere far behind, this passion of mine. These kids reminded me of something I need to get back to.

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