Once in a while, photojournalists will get an assignment that reminds us what an amazing job we truly have. I just finished one of those assignments as I recently returned on a 19-hour flight from New Delhi, India.

Jon Huntsman Jr., the Governor of Utah, traveled to India with his wife Mary Kaye and three of their children to adopt a 13-month old baby girl. I was lucky enough to be sent by The Tribune to photograph the family as they picked her up from an orphanage in a small village in the western state of Gujarat.

Asha, which means hope in Hindi, “will be loved,” Huntsman said.

On the day of the adoption, we got on a 6am flight from New Delhi to Ahmedabad. We arrived around 8am and were quickly loaded into a caravan of white hotel cars. It was an hour drive to the orphanage as our cars weaved through the heavy Indian traffic of rickshaws and camel-drawn wagons.

When we arrived at the orphanage in Nadiad, it seemed like the entire town had gathered to catch a glimpse of Utah’s First family. Many were in traditional dress and some entertained the family with their dance.

What was supposed to be an intimate gathering of family members and orphanage staff, turned into an all out media free-for-all, with dozens of Indian media muscling each other for the best angles.

As the family made their way up the path towards the orphanage, they were sprinkled with marigold and rose petals, while being visually assaulted by the barrage of flashes coming from the paparazzi.

The family seemed overwhelmed by all of the attention out and the intense crowds that mobbed them where ever they walked. Inside of the orphanage, they had a formal ceremony where the family signed all of the papers and there were more
dance performances and speeches given by children and orphanage staff.

It was a touching moment when Asha was brought out by her caregiver, Sister Kokila Barmar, and handed over to her new mother Mary Kaye.

It was only 13 months ago that Asha was left on the side of the road in a nearby town called Karjat. The police picked her up and dropped her off at the orphanage. They called her Kanak. It means “gold.”

Afterwards, we had a quick lunch and then went to the Hindu Temple in Nadiad in order to get their baby blessed by Ramdasji, the Chief of the Santarm Temple. Cameras were not allowed inside so I couldn’t make any pictures, but it was a
nice, brief ceremony.

We drove back to our hotel in Ahmedabad and I edited my pictures with a pot of delicious Indian coffee.