Maybe I'm Amazed

There are two things in life that keep me (and probably most of you) relatively sane.  One is that throughout my life I have been blessed beyond comprehension to know wonderful friends and family.  That is number one.

The second is that I am able, from time to time, to be overly amazed by very simple things.

If you’ve ever taken a walk with me, or if you have talked to me in the past several months, or if you read my blog occasionally, you know that the simple thing that usually amazes me beyond what is reasonable is an animal.  (If you need to catch up, see here, here, here, or even pre-India, here.)

Today I was amazed by a tree.  This tree, to be exact:

It grows in the Old City, mere blocks from Charminar.  You remember Charminar, the one thing people travel to Hyderabad to see; the place filled with jewelry markets and antiques and crowds of people.  It grows there, cramped between shops and homes. It grows tall and wild.  It grows old. It grows strong and steadfast.

It amazes me, standing there adorned with kites from this weekend’s Sankranti festival, with its ability to withstand all of it. It amazes me with its defiance to grow there amidst its surroundings.  It defies to be strong and radiant and existing, thriving and intricate – despite its environment polluted by smog and trash and people, by strife and trials and people. Despite the odds, despite all of these things, it goes on, it thrives.

That’s amazing.

P.S. Sorry the tree picture isn’t so great. 

As a foreigner – especially in the Old City – I could not simply stand on the roadside long enough to get a good picture.

No, my stopping even for a second, even before I dared to take out my camera, led to a line of autos bidding for their chance to tour me around the city, at least three helpful pairs of people on scooters trying to give me directions, and a woman asking for “10 rupees only, madam” in perfect English.   

So the picture suffered a little.  Apologies.

P.P.S I want the pants displayed in the store front by Charminar.  You do too - you just may not know it yet.