Evening Walk

The last hour of sunlight was far too beautiful to spend sitting still. Sweety was falling asleep on the couch, and the rest of the family was resigned to their sleeping spots. I smothered myself in mosquito repellent, slipped on my shoes, and set out on foot to explore my pleasantly quaint neighborhood.

Any time I read or practice my flute, Sweety makes me face East. She says it "maximizes the experience", thus my rationale for heading east on my evening excursion. Immediately after heading out I laid eyes on Louanne who was getting caught trying to snag a Watermelon from the Watermelon Man's cart. Since she was unsuccessful, I bought her 5 rupees worth of melon to appease her hunger. While Louanne was chowing down, I decided to strike up conversation with those at the stand, which involved few words, and lots of head wobbling and hand gestures. There was the Watermelon Man, the Watermelon Man's wife, Louanne's peasant "owner", and a two year old boy standing on the steep side walk wearing nothing but a splotchy brown button down shirt, his feet still dyed pink from Holi.

A fella strolled down the street to join in on the silent head wobbling. He was a lanky twenty something with the brightest smile and the greenest eyes in all of India. I was completely captivated by his dashing appearance and began slowly melting into a puddle of ridiculous girlish fantasies right next to Louanne's pile of spit on the street's dirty pavement. He has to be the most heartbreakingly beautiful boy on this side of the globe. He turned his entrancing eyes my way and with his enrapturing smile said to me "our eyes are so similar, but our skin is so different." Oh me oh my! How I withheld my urge to say "but baby that don't matter" is beyond me. Returning from my delightful fantasy wonderland to the watermelon stand in India in 2009, I regained the use of my legs and bidding my farewell I headed west, unable to handle any more of that eastern intensity.

But wait! The adventure does not end there! I started out heading east, and that eastern energy was determined to stay with me. I walked westward admiring the thick foliage that created a canopy over my path. A patch of light shown sweetly no a two puppies wrestling in the sand. I sat down with them on the outskirts of a slum neighborhood to get some old school puppy loving. Next thing I knew, I was surrounded by fifteen little kids, all with giant pearly white smiles. Normally, I would be concerned for potential muggings, but seeing as how I only had the clothes on my back and a second hand phone in my pocket, I felt little reason to be alarmed. The kids were interested in me and kept asking me questions in Hindi. One ten year old boy wearing a blue jodhpuri was able to speak in English. He asked me if I wanted to take the puppies, and with a smile I said, "I wish." For many minutes I stood surrounded by this delightful little crowd of children, when three women in sari's approached us.

I stood surrounded by beaming faces and questions that I couldn't understand. One of the women was dusting puppy hair off my bosom, a brief contact that I savored since human contact is so few and far between here . Giving up on conversation, the women decided that we didn't need words, and proceeded to teach me a traditional Hindi dance. Next thing I know, I am in a crowd of twenty women and children, we're facing east with one hand up in the air while the other is rotating in a circular motion out by our side, our feet tapping about smoothly.

Are there cameras? Am I on a stage? Are my friends back home watching me tap around on the big screen at Rasoi? No, no, no... I must be dreaming. Could it be? Have I just busted out in random dance with a bunch of my new neighbors? I have?! Now I know I'm in India!

I keep on. Right hand in the air, then left, spin, touch heels together, spin opposite way, all the while our faces gleaming with delight, the eastern air elevating our experience. Then suddenly, I look up mid spin and Heavenly Eyes is strutting down the street, his long legs carrying his beautiful bright smile my way. Plants perk up as he passes. The sewage smell vanishes, and God blesses the slum neighborhood with a sweet lavender scent. It was too much. I had to stop before I danced my way to the marriage hall, with all of Hyderabad dancing alongside Heavenly Eyes who would be riding Louanne to take those most sacred vows. I wouldn't put it passed this eastern energy. I waved goodbye to my new friends and scurried past my green eyed prince, and walked quickly home where I slipped inside to find Sweety was still sleeping, lost in her evening dreams.