Rose colored glasses

Hi Everybody,
I'm writing from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan in North West India. We have been in Jaipur for 5 days now and have had good success here. I have met 3 different artists here and I am working with two (one of which is a 16 yr. old girl- the daughter of a well known artist in Jaipur). The other artists is a young man in his early 20's working in a small shop in the "pink city" region of Jaipur. It has been an interesting learning process getting the artists to take initiative to paint things from their own imagination and not only copy from a sketch or provided photo.
Yesterday, I was happy to see that both artists gave me sketches including ideas from their imagination. It makes me REALLY happy to know that I can provide the opportunity to pay them for work which is from their creative perspective rather than the usual signs for which they are comissioned. They seemed very excited and inspired to do that also.
On a more personal level, it has been good for me to see the perserverance that I have seen in many of the artists. Many of them are moving forward with the technology that is evolving in their field. I didn't expect to see that as much as I have. Indians, despite all of their impoverished surroundings are an amazingly resourceful and determined. Its always a humbling experiece to watch the courage and initiative that they will take even in the most tryins situations.
I am attaching two photos. The first is a photo of the artist who I met in Delhi who has invited me to be a part of his family. The second is the young artist I am working with here in Jaipur.