Jumma exudes a happy reserve which is immediately noticeable. High and round cheeks enforce this impression; his posture and comport combine to affect a kind of happy unselfconsciousness in those who surround him:
Jumma (middle) with John (right)
We went to the town mosque, which was surrounded by a chalky square. Behind the mosque, the town youth was playing cricket. I couldn't help but join in. They played with a bat which was little more than a two by four with a whittled-down handle.
Som joined in. He and I are very competitive and we immediately saw it as a chance to prove our athletic prowess.
The crowd seemed to follow people from our party around in accordance with some kind of unwritten rule which determined the relative interest of a person and the fraction of the party they composed. When Som, Jason and I left the shade of the mango tree to bowl, we were followed by almost the entire crowd. When Jason left, a small part of the crowd followed him back to the tree.
After John talked with some prominent village members, we went to Jumma's house.
