Histoires

The Photo That Changed Me: reconnecting in Rajasthan

Inspired by an old black-and-white photo, Peter John Watson reconnects his father with long-lost friends in India, four decades after they said goodbye

A framed black and white photo showing people in Rajasthan sits on a marble mantelpiece
A framed black and white photo showing people in Rajasthan sits on a marble mantelpiece

My parents’ stories of India lit a flame in me early on – a deep-rooted wanderlust

While my father completed his teaching contract, he and my mother took short trips around Rajasthan – from Jaisalmer, the Golden City, to Jaipur, the Pink City

A black and white photo showing Peter Watson’s father with a group of men and women posing in four rows in Rajasthan in 1970

Peter’s father in 1970 at Shree Mahesh School

My father showed me a handful of photos from their time in India. I’d seen many of them before – but one stood out

I had the photo, and a few scraps of outdated information: a school name and the names of people who may or may not still be alive

Geoffrey standing with Radheshyam and Satynarain Joshi and family in their house in Bhilwara

Peter’s father Geoffrey returned to the same house in Bhilwara 43 years later

A smiling Geoffrey standing in a living room with his arms round Radheshyam and Satynarain Joshi on either side of him

A warm reunion for Geoffrey and Radheshyam and Satynarain

Lire plus d’histoires sur