Kids traveling in Bangalore

These three pictures were taken on the roads of Bangalore this week. Many kids travel on a motor scooter like these three girls on their way to school. That head in front of the father belongs to the smallest girl and she is standing in front of her father between his legs. This is the safest place for a kid on a scooter because the driver's arms and legs provide some protection against accidentally falling off. You can tell these girls are going to school because it is early morning and they are wearing their school uniforms. I took this picture while I was on my bicycle and both vehicles were in motion. They are passing me and I think the motion, has somewhat distorted the girls heads in the picture. This was the third time they passed me as we both picked our way through the traffic. The one in the middle smiled and waved at me each time.

This little girl appears to be asleep. Donna snapped this with the camera phone as we were sitting in an auto-rickshaw at a traffic light. The girl did not stir when the light changed and the scooter moved forward, nor when a car passed blaring its horn. It is the law in Bangalore that the driver of a "two wheeler" (scooter or motorcycle) must wear a helmet. The law does not apply to "riders" so you almost never see anyone but the driver wearing a helmet. And helmets on children is virtually unheard of.

This boy is riding on a bus. We were both stopped for a traffic light and I was trying to capture the sleepy expression he had on his face when I first pulled up next to him. But he became more attentive when I got out the camera.