Siesta

                                 Photographer: Sudipto Das (From India)


This photo grabbed my attention and made me feel happy and serene because it reminded me of myself when I was a kid but in a different scenario. I felt that it showed companionship between the dog and the boy.
There is intimacy with this photo where the photographer was able to capture the moment where both, the dog and the young boy were asleep. I also feel an emotional intimacy through this photo. When I look at the subject of this photo, I remember my childhood years. It is as if I am the one in the photo.

When I was a child, I had a rooster that I played with in the garden. I always got myself dirty. Several times, my mother would come out to the garden and find that I have played with the rooster for a long time and got myself dirty and tired that I slept in the garden. Now, my nephew is 4 years old living in Iraq. His family gave him a bunny rabbit as a gift. My nephew always plays with the rabbit in the garden and gets tired and sleeps there. When my brother sees this scene, he laughs and says that he is just like his uncle, Amir.

This photo has two meanings. One is that the young boy was playing with the dog outside the rooms of his house but at the entrance or doorway of the house. In some cultures, families do not allow dogs and animals to enter the rooms. That is why the young boy would rather play and sleep beside his dog outside for an afternoon as part of the loyalty, love, and trust the two have for each other.

The second interpreting for this photo that crossed my mind as soon as I looked at it was the lock at the door. It seems that the young boy and the dog were outside the house playing. When they came back from the farm or orchard they found the outside door locked. It also seems that the rest of the family is outside the house; either at work, or out somewhere. The young boy and the dog sat at the doorsteps waiting for their family. They waited for a while until the boy felt sleepy. He slept feeling safe and secures that his friend the dog will protect him and be at his side.
 Of course, the boy started by dozing off as he was sitting on the doorsteps. Slowly, he felt that he needed to spread his legs and feel comfortable. He was hoping to find some people close by to open the door for him. But suddenly he dozed to a deep sleep. It also seems that the dog was tired and wanted to rest as well. Through this second meaning, I feel it was not the boy's choice to sleep with the dog outside; rather it was the fact that there was no one there to open the door for him.

This child is not from a poor family. Although his clothes are dirty, but that is the reality of the people of the small villages. The children always play in the gardens and among the animals and the families are always busy. In general, the environments in rural towns are different from the atmosphere in the urban cities.

A while back, I visited the Amish farm near Columbia, MO. I found the children to be in the same shape as this child in this photo: dirty clothes, bare feet, among the animals, and in the gardens or farms.
I do not know how long the young boy will wait outside his home until someone comes and opens the door for him. However, at the end of the day, he is happy and relaxed with the dog and with what he has done so far in his day.

There is a similarity between the boy's t-shirt and the colors of the photo and between the lines on the door and the color of the dog and the ground. In spite of the fact that the boy and the dog are asleep; the color green gives them the symbolism of life and beauty.

I believe that cropping was done in a nice way because every part of the photo has a deep meaning.
The movement of the boy's hands, legs and fingers are very calm and peaceful, as if he was placed on the steps in this position without much thought. This photo could be considered as part of the Innocence-Harmony type of photos through the composition and the layout. Happiness, comfort, security, and innocence are evident through the faces of both the young boy and the dog.