Rural Entertainers

Foreign

First of all, how do we know these are rural entertainers?

How do we know? Did T.S. Satyan really know? Could he have? What is it to be ‘rural’ in the context of the Indian tourism industry? What does it mean to have the label ‘entertainers’?

Let’s add some context.

The dramatic backdrop of this image, a quintessentially ‘Indian’ scene against which the white tourists are so perfectly framed is in fact in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. And we can identify it. It is a structure that is part of the Vyas Chhatri Cenotaph complex.

People go there to photograph the sunset against its famed yellow limestone. Today, there is a 100 Rupee entrance fee to enter, and another 100 Rupees for a camera.

The light slants across his sleeve and his arm, casually leaning against a pillar. It’s not quite sunset yet, but the light is gentle on their pink, windswept skin. Somehow, both the light and the wind seem harsher on the ‘entertainers’.

None of the entertainers are looking at their audience. Is their performance already over, or has it not started yet? We can’t tell what kind of entertainers they are. There are no obvious signs of musical instruments, and they don’t seem to be dancers. Is there a little child in front of the man in the center? I can’t quite tell. The woman on the right has a toddler in her arms.

Together, they look like a family who happened to be passing by but were quite literally caught in the Imperial Gaze that is sitting in anticipation, waiting for them to appear in the foreground.