Three Beautiful Things

I'm not sure what makes some particular moments in life so beautiful.. Maybe it's the joy and surprise at witnessing them, maybe it's just a combination of simple factors like mindset and sunlight and perhaps at any other time we would have missed them.. But I'll always remember these three things.

1. I was walking down Nyaya Marg, my street, on my way to the American Embassy for lunch. It was pretty blazing hot, but I had my iPod tuned to Aimee Mann and a bottle of water in my purse so I was alright. Coming towards me, barefoot, was this young guy, maybe 15, 16 years old at the most. He looked like he was talking into his hand, which looked, at 15 feet away, like it was filled with garbage. As I got closer, I could see he was cupping a little bird in his hand, talking to it and petting it. As I walked by, it seemed like everything slowed.. The hot wind starting blowing a little softer, the music was more poignant.. It was a fantastic slow motion event in my life. This boy looked at me, and I'm sure he didn't even register me, so wrapped up he was in talking to this little dusty bird. I'm not sure what it was - but it I do know it was fantastic and beautiful and memorable.

2. I know I've mentioned this before in my favorite things... But I think I need to elaborate, if only because it was 10 minutes in my life that I will cherish. A few Fridays ago, Bryan and I were making cheesecakes to take to his staff picnic, which we delinquently didn't start baking until about 9 o'clock in the evening. By the time we got around to the second one, we realised that we didn't have enough (ok.. we didn't have any) eggs. So we took the puppies, on this beautiful, warm clear night, and walked to the market at the end of the street. Sometimes, just having somebodies hand in yours is enough to make any event perfect unto itself. But to be walking in and out of little spheres of streetlights, comfortable in the city sounds and the beautiful smell of Delhi at night.. it was wonderful. The eggs we bought were still warm from the day, and to have them slipped into a homemade (homemade!!) brown paper bag by a gentleman how didn't know what to watch, us or the cricket game murmering on his little tv.. The brightness of the shop will always stand out. The darker the evening gets, the more the little markets stand out with their bare lights hanging from wires, the glow of little tv sets and the orange fireflies of cigarrette ends - markets end up looking otherworldly, sitting illuminated among all the darkened houses. To be there, warm on the outside, on the inside, to be beside somebody you care about, experiencing such a sliver of lovelyness.. it was beautiful.

3. It was hot yesterday. I was grumpy, sweaty, and in an incredible hurry. Rajesh was driving me to one of the hotels to pick up chocolates, and it was all I could do not to be vocally grumpy. We were driving down one of the wider streets when we slowed down behind a bunch of cars. There was a young guy on a bicycle in front of all the traffic, conducting. He had a walkman on, and both hands outstretched to the sides, leading the traffic in a completely lovely symphony of horns. But he was taking his time, peddling deliberately and carefully, looking alternately like a parade leader and a mad man, furiously and beautifully directing bicycles and rickshaws and cabs and people. We rolled by, and I could only smile for the rest of the day.