Night drive

Sitting in the backseat of a car.

The world moves and we move with it.

Enfolded in chaos, I felt the energy of criss-crossing lives.

Saturday evening, a day after landing in Delhi from orderly Tokyo, we were heading to an Indian wedding and our young driver never seemed hesitant. I looked straight ahead through the windshield, as he zoomed in between the density of all things surrounding us, venturing inside narrow alleys, brushing against the vegetable market stalls, making a U-turn at what seemed to be the tiniest intersection in the world. He could do it all without a scratch.  

A cow blocked our way on a dark road. Barely visible, the animal just stood still, staring at us and totally peaceful. We made our way around it and headed toward a desolate highway. The driver turned up the music and an Indian pop song vibrated in the dark.

There I felt a sharp awareness of the stray dogs and pedestrians walking in the dark. That we are in this world together, in the here and now.