An Indian Princess

One day, Hilde came and sat next to me.

She said she would like to take some personal pictures.

“Of me?” I could not believe it. 

“Yes, in a saree. It is such a beautiful garment” she said.

“A saree symbolises the feminine spirit and elegance” I agreed.

 “You choose the sarees. Your place, mine, or outdoors – all fine” she said.

She made me feel so special with those words.

Hilde is a professional Dutch photographer and I loved her work. I had seen her portfolios on the internet. I never imagined that she would ask me to be her model. I am neither blessed with extraordinary beauty nor do I have a good taste in fashion.

That year I was helping a Dutch class at school to ease their transition to the international stream. Hilde’s son was in that class. I wore sarees on special occasions. She must have seen me on one of those days. 

However, Hilde’s family was soon to move to Moscow and did not have much time in Muscat. She set a date for the photo shoot and I could not keep it as our schedules didn’t match. So, unfortunately, the photo session never took place.

The important thing is that she made an ordinary girl like me feel like an Indian princess, if only for a while. Only a real princess can make another girl feel like a princess.

Hilde does wonders with family pictures and some of these pictures are priceless.

You may see Hilde’s pictures on her website http://hildevandersterren.net/

 

 

(The above picture is of models in sarees at a showroom in Coimbatore, India)