I thoroughly enjoy the people of India. To be more accurate, I enjoy most of the people of India.

I’ve tried to photograph, respectfully, many of the Indians I encounter. It is a challenge to capture in a split-second a photograph which evokes a personality. It is also a challenge to suggest that some individuals’ photographs suggest a more general Indian trait. Yet, maybe some of the following photos do evoke and suggest something of an “Indian spirit.”

In reviewing my photos, I realize how many times the Indians were smiling! Although they may stare at me with a blankless look at first, an Indian inevitably breaks out in a smile if I acknowledge their presence in some manner.

As a professor, I took photo after photo of students. Many Indians, but not all, value education. To achieve the Indian equivalent of the American dream, a house with reliable electricity and water, many Indians know that they need an education.  I remember Kul our Jaipur host proudly saying, but not in a boasting manner, that his daughter qualified for one of the 3000 medical school positions out of some 300,000 who took the exam.

By and large, I find that Indians are gentle and humble. While I recognize that a woman may have a different opinion, I have rarely observed Indians fighting or pushing one another. I may be over generalizing, but this trait may contribute to Indians not initiating a war since Independence.

I tried to capture what Varmas described as the resilience of Indian people. When confronting massive indignities of pollution, poverty, or corruption, many Indians simply endure the difficulties.

I like everybody else am overwhelmed by the diversity of Indian people.The diversity is ethnic, linguistic, age and more.

I can’t say that I totally love India. Who can? I can say though that India and its people have an attraction unmatched by few other places and people.