Happiness often hides in the smallest of things rather than the grand occasions — and a physical education teacher in Odisha has turned that very idea into his life’s mission. Once his school duty is done, he picks up his camera and heads out onto the streets. Quietly, he captures a labourer, a passer-by or a poor elderly person living out an ordinary day, then pays out of his own pocket to get that picture framed (laminated), and hands it back to the very same person as a priceless gift. He has named this unusual initiative ‘Tikie Khusi’ — meaning ‘a little happiness’.
The Man Behind the Story
The face behind this heartfelt effort is Ranjan Patra. Ranjan is a young PT master — a physical education teacher — at the ‘Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya’. By day he teaches children sport and discipline, but inside him lives an artist whose heart beats for photography.
Hobby photographers usually earn lakhs of rupees capturing lavish weddings, scenic valleys or famous faces. Ranjan, however, turned his lens in the opposite direction — towards the faces that mainstream society tends to overlook. The people who sweep the streets, who sweat in the fields, and who quietly endure their poverty in some forgotten corner are the real heroes of his photographs.
It Began in 2020 — Over 1,000 Gifts Since
Ranjan started this journey back in 2020. Over the past 6 years, spending entirely from his own pocket, he has gifted laminated photographs to more than 1,000 people. His intention behind it is strikingly simple.
He explains that many elderly and poor villagers do not own a single photograph in their entire lives that they could keep as a keepsake. When he captures such a person absorbed in their own routine — feeding hens, say, or simply smiling — he is in effect freezing a moment of their life forever. Thanks to the lamination, this small piece of paper survives for years without spoiling and becomes a proud fixture on the walls of their homes.
The Photo of the Elderly Man Feeding His Hens
To understand the beauty of Ranjan’s work, consider one of his pictures. In it, a very ordinary elderly villager squats on the ground, feeding his hens and tiny chicks from a bamboo winnow. An old bicycle leans beside him and a pile of firewood sits in the background. With no staging whatsoever, it is a remarkable shot of the plain, simple life of rural India, captured in the man’s completely natural pose.
When the Sight of His Own Photo Brought Tears
The story’s most moving turn comes when Ranjan returns to the same elderly man after getting that photo printed and laminated. In another image, Ranjan himself — wearing a green shirt — stands outside the man’s home, while the elderly man holds the very laminated photo Ranjan had taken earlier. The wonder and pride on the man’s face as he holds his own beautiful picture is hard to put into words. Beside him stand two little girls from his family, an unfamiliar joy lighting up their faces. This is not merely the handing over of a photograph; it is one human being offering another the gift of ‘respect’ — the same happiness that truly lives in the smallest of things.
Ranjan Takes Not a Single Rupee
The most striking part is that Ranjan accepts not a single rupee in return for all of this. He spends a portion of his school salary on the digital printing and lamination that bring this ‘Tikie Khusi’ — this little happiness — to strangers. It is precisely this selfless spirit that has now earned him plenty of headlines, from Odisha’s social media to its local streets.
