The clerk muttered something to one of them in Hindi and pointed to his watch; it seemed the store was about to close. The girls waved him away as they continued to find more goods for me. And when I would decide on something, Aruna would snatch it out of my hands and hold on to it for me so that I could remain focused on the task at hand; her arms were filling quickly.
The store lights began to switch off as we approached the counter, but we were undeterred. They scoured the store for more items of interest, and we dropped additional purchases on the counter even as the clerk was tallying the rest. The girls were discussing something at length with the clerk in Hindi, but I never understood much more than a request to the back room for “bubble paper”. We came away from the store with three full bags, but I wasn’t permitted to carry them. The girls insisted on carrying them for me as we proceeded to a restaurant in a nearby shopping district.
Whew. That was fun.
From there, we took a cab to the primary retail district in Chandigarh, an outdoor mall with a wide open courtyard, not unlike some Western shopping centers. The staff had a specific restaurant in mind; they wanted a place where we could chat in peace. We sat down (along with Santhosh, who had now joined us) at a semi-formal Muslim eatery for a beautiful, tasty dinner. We exchanged rapid-fire questions for the next hour and a half; about family, God, the US, India, vacation spots, hobbies, and food. Wonderful conversation. They were curious about my life; I was curious about theirs. It’s fascinating to me that our shared work in the sterile, high-tech world of IT has given us common ground to build friendships that would never otherwise exist.
I have only begun to understand their lives – their joys and challenges, hopes and fears – but I am already fascinated and enlightened.
(Sorry, haven't had time to download more photos. Will post more soon.)
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