Bunny: A Moodboard

Ophelia: Thank You

Close to Varanasi, there is a weaving village where they make the Banaras Saris by hand. I did not know what to expect, so when I arrived I was amazed. It started when we went into the house of a weaver who was sitting in front of the weaving machine making a sari. I was fascinated by the process and the diligence of this man. I was taking videos of him working at his craft. He ignored us, never once looking up. This lack of concern with us was, on the one hand, a welcome change, since the children had been posing and demanding we take pictures, yet it was also saddening, as if he had nothing left to care about, as if he was used to people invading his space. This thought made me put my camera away and just watch him work. I thought about how the making of these saris, the repetitive movement, must have impacted his body over time. I thought about if he received any money from the tour we were on or if he was just being used to showcase the production without receiving compensation. I had no money to give. The only thing I had was words in a language he did not understand. I quickly went to Ajit and asked him to thank the man for allowing us to experience him working. When Ajit told him this, the man looked up at me. And he smiled. We held eye contact for a few seconds and I nodded and he nodded and went back to work, smiling. These moments are not something a camera could ever pick up. They are not something one can show one’s friends a picture of. They are human interactions that only occur if one is truly thankful for the experience a person has given to one. All that remains is the feeling of gratitude in one’s memory, and this feeling is worth so much more than a picture.