NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

British windfall for Indian family

A British photographer has won 1,000 pounds (1,600 dollars) for an Indian family after a picture he snapped of them and entered in a photo contest captured the top prize.

Now all he has to do is find them. Jon Marshall, who took a picture of the 10-member family while holidaying near the Taj Mahal in India, is planning to return to the sub-continent to give them their share of the prize.

''I'm desperately trying to make contact,'' Marshall, 62, told The Times newspaper. ''I'm going to have to fly back and find them. It won't be easy, because India has a population of 970 million.''

Marshall, who took the picture last summer, claimed a 1,000 pounds prize in cash and film for himself after winning a contest sponsored by Eastman Kodak Co.

But the contest rules stipulated that the family featured in the photo should also receive 1,000 pounds.

Marshall said he has contacted the Indian embassy in London for help but he only has the name of the head of the family, Baghcha Pahalwan, to begin his search. ''A thousand pounds is a lot of money in India and it will have a dramatic effect on their lives,'' Marshall said.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report