Photo Shoot!

The glitz and glamour of fashion is something that I have always been fascinated by. But little did I know all the hard work that goes into it. A very resourceful Ammama (grandmother) managed to get me a photo shoot with the best photographer in Hyderabad, Arvind Chenji. I was absolutely thrilled. Getting to feel like a model/princess for a whole day is a rare occurrence for most people, and I was so excited to get all dolled up and take pictures. But of course beauty is pain, and I had my fair share of pain the day before the shoot. Ammama (grandmother) took me to a Beauty Parlour and we got all the essentials done there. We documented the preparation process with lots of pictures. Also, a huge thanks to Ammama for spending the whole day with me at the Beauty Parlour. She so graciously waited without any complaint, and I can’t say this enough but I love her and appreciate her so much for everything she’s done for me this trip.


Finally the day of the photo shoot had arrived. We woke up bright and early to a typical rainy Hyderabad morning. (Again a hearty thanks to Ammama and Thata who happily woke up at an ungodly time of the day to support their granddaughter). We took the long wet drive silently, anticipating what was to come and when we finally arrived at Arvind’s house, my excitement hit a peak. Meghana, the wonderful make-up artist, spent an hour making sure every surface of my face, neck, and arms were absolutely flawless. I looked like a completely different person afterwards, and she did a stunning job. After the make up it was time for the pictures! I was told to give a variety of looks, from saucy to the “I love Brad Pitt” look, I felt like a real model and it was such a great time. Arvind had me do a couple of jumping pictures which I really enjoyed, and then it was all over.


This was another one of those wonderful experiences I’ve had in India. Sure, it’s quite different from all the other medical experiences, in fact it might even be the polar opposite, but I had a blast and would never get to do something like this back home. A huge thanks to Arvind, Meghana, Ammama, and Thata for arranging this for me, and making sure I had a wonderful time. I haven’t seen the final product yet, but Arvind is coming over tomorrow to show us the pictures, and considering his exceptional photography skills, I know I will be impressed. We took a couple of “before” and “after” shots on our own camera so here they are!






After picture. We had breakfast at the Secunderabad club after the shoot!