Night walks and naivety

by Morgan Koster

On the first day in India, a group of strangers escaped together into the night.

I imagine we looked like school children who escaped the play yard and were tentatively but enthusiastically exploring the chaotic, bustling world that dwarfs their small existence. As all our senses were overcome with stimulation we understood that it was possible to hold contradictory beliefs, that were equally valid, at the same time. Sentiments of awe, fear, humility, boldness, overwhelm, self-doubt, fascination and wonder were invoked in all. Each was a pioneer in their own mind as they stepped out into a world they could never imagine would have existed. We hoped that our panicked inner dialogues were incomprehensible to the locals who moved through the streets with artistic, expert familiarity, working with temperamental mediums of which they are masters. Navigating streets with grace, pedestrians and vehicles danced together in the same space as percussion pounded and horns blared, illuminated by spotlights of store signs. I am unsure whether they saw us as so blatantly out of place as children in an adult world or if our mentality was that of a convict on the run; imagining suspicion where there is none and, in fact, they did not even notice us at all.