The first couple of days we were in India I was a little camera shy. But after I started taking pictures, I just could not stop. There were so many interesting images I wanted to capture and bring home with me.
One thing that I loved seeing was the beautiful vibrant color of a women's sari, fruit, or a water jug in the midst of a background full of brown, dirt, garbage. Hope in the midst of despair. Life in the midst of darkness.
Here are some more pictures along with a few stories.
The water...

... that they are doing laundry in.

This picture shows a bit of the evolution of dress in India.

One of the things that tickled me most while we were there was learning that granite is in such abundance in India that they use it for fences (above) in a lot of places. Even the poorest people can get granite. Amazing that it is such a high priced, luxury material here.

Construction techniques are very different. We saw lots of slim tree trunks that were used for scaffolding (see right side of this building).
Prostitution is a huge problem. Many young women are sold by their families or chose to become prostitutes because they are so poor. Teaching a women a simple skill like tailoring, gives her a way to make an income and therefore decreases her chances of entering prostitution. This women had a sewing machine in the front part of her home in the first slum we went to.

We had to drink and use bottled water for brushing our teeth.
This is the view right outside of our really nice hotel. The writing on the wall behind these men says "Graveyard Wall. Do Not Pass Urine." One shocking thing to me is that it is perfectly acceptable for a man to just stop on the side of the road and pee. Not only is that awkward to but also a little gross in my opinion.