#tipofhappiness

"Please smile Akka"

No smile.

"Please Akka. Smile as you generally do!"

Grim smile.

"Why are you not smiling? :|"

Laughs out.

These nomadic people also called Banjaras from Madhya Pradesh work in Mumbai with Reliance - one of the biggest conglomerates in India. Reliance thanks them wholeheartedly by giving them homes right on the road sides; not just that, it demands a small token money as rent as well.

These Banjaras struggle and strive to make a living every day and smile at the face of Reliance. Probably they have the least reliance on Reliance :)

When Radhika approached them, they jumped up at the sight of a camera clicking them. They posed left and right. The day had come when they were the center stage and the show stoppers! 

-

These photos have been taken in early 2013 in a displaced camp in south Sudan called "Abu ramad". Literally it means "father of ash", a sad name for a sad place, yet these kids found their way out into smiles. Sometimes all you need is a ray of hope for the smiles to blossom!

"They are living in tents in the middle of nowhere, their towns were bombed, almost all of them are in very bad health condition, but when they saw us they got all excited about the things we got for them and having us there."