To run with "doing something bold," I went and started a conversation with a woman who turned out to be a 90-year old aunty from Bombay named Indira. Our chat started on an awkward note - she asked multiple times how I knew her, and I had to yell into her non-hearing-aid ear that she, in fact, didn't.
But once she realized that I spoke Gujarati and actually wanted to listen to her talk, the mood changed. She held onto my arm gently, giggled, and told me about her family, her childhood, her whitening hair and her thoughts on the play we were watching. There was something so wise, beautiful and delicate about her - this woman with 90 years of life experience who didn't seem bitter or regretful about anything in her past or present. She was almost childlike in her observations, wonderous at the idea that she has become a great-grandmother and amused at the idea that she stopped coloring her hair only a few weeks ago, and it was growing out white.
In a 10 minute conversation, Indira (as she insisted I call her) made me want to be better, even braver, even bolder. I hope I get to see her again.
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