The musical gardens that we went to on the way home from Mysore are very popular with local tourists. I think we were the only caucasians in a sea of locals. We definitely stood out. As we walked around one of us would fend off people trying to touch Daisy. Some people understood when we objected but mostly they got offended when you gently guide their hands away from her. Sometimes they ask if they can take a picture and we usually say no but mostly we hear the sound of the shutter or the mobile phone to realise that someone, usually always a male, is taking her photo. It is a sad state of contemporary society that I get anxious when strange men take photos of my baby girl. If they are obviously tourists and it is quiet and they ask nicely then we do say yes, especially if they all want to be in the photo as well. I think back to all the wonderful children that I have photographed in Nepal and Mexico. At the time I thought nothing of what their mothers thought!It all seems so different now to have someone photograph Daisy. Above is a photo of when we stopped to feed her some dinner. Within minutes we were surrounded by people who were snapping away left, right and centre. We felt like they were paparazzi! She of course loved it and there would be smiles all round from Daisy. Eventually it got too much and Christopher rose up and ordered everyone to leave us alone. At one stage they were two and three people deep, all in a semi-circle around us, well around Daisy. We try and be friendly and understanding about it but we both find it very unsettling so not only do we keep our guard up for people pinching Daisy's cheeks but also for people taking her photo. I quite often get asked in the grocery store. I have to be careful as a couple of times in the store I have looked around to find someone trying to take her out of the trolley to show her off or something. Then I freak out and start screaming like a banshee to leave my baby alone!! It is something that we have to deal with everyday and we haven't found a solution to yet.
The musical gardens that we went to on the way home from Mysore are very popular with local tourists. I think we were the only caucasians in a sea of locals. We definitely stood out. As we walked around one of us would fend off people trying to touch Daisy. Some people understood when we objected but mostly they got offended when you gently guide their hands away from her. Sometimes they ask if they can take a picture and we usually say no but mostly we hear the sound of the shutter or the mobile phone to realise that someone, usually always a male, is taking her photo. It is a sad state of contemporary society that I get anxious when strange men take photos of my baby girl. If they are obviously tourists and it is quiet and they ask nicely then we do say yes, especially if they all want to be in the photo as well. I think back to all the wonderful children that I have photographed in Nepal and Mexico. At the time I thought nothing of what their mothers thought!It all seems so different now to have someone photograph Daisy. Above is a photo of when we stopped to feed her some dinner. Within minutes we were surrounded by people who were snapping away left, right and centre. We felt like they were paparazzi! She of course loved it and there would be smiles all round from Daisy. Eventually it got too much and Christopher rose up and ordered everyone to leave us alone. At one stage they were two and three people deep, all in a semi-circle around us, well around Daisy. We try and be friendly and understanding about it but we both find it very unsettling so not only do we keep our guard up for people pinching Daisy's cheeks but also for people taking her photo. I quite often get asked in the grocery store. I have to be careful as a couple of times in the store I have looked around to find someone trying to take her out of the trolley to show her off or something. Then I freak out and start screaming like a banshee to leave my baby alone!! It is something that we have to deal with everyday and we haven't found a solution to yet. 
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