Divine Curry

Came home last night with a bag full of the In'N Out meal i had ordered hours earlier, uneaten and cold.
When my mom looked at me quizically, I laughed and explained, "I didn't eat it. I had homemade Indian food instead."

Obviously, this demanded further explination. I sat down and told her my story.

I entered In'N Out (in Oakland) and saw an older man kind of lingering around near the line for the cashiers. Unsure if he was waiting or not i met his gaze and smiled at him. He wasn't. Realizing i didn't have any cash on me i got out of line and walked over to the ATM. The man meandered over in my general direction, as i was getting money out. I was aware of his presence and a little confused about what exactly was going on with him. He approached me and asked, "Are you from this country?"
This began a short conversation in which i learned that he, "J.K.", and his wife, Asha, were visiting from India. A short exchange occurred and we swapped emails.

I ordered and sat down to wait, politely observing the public space ettiquete of silence and avoiding others' eyes, when i saw the Indian couple sitting at a table with no food in front of them. I went over to ask them if they had already eaten, thinking maybe i could buy them dinner if they needed. They informed me that they were vegetarians and had brought their own food. They apparantly had come on a tour bus with a larger group of people, and had packed enough food for the whole trip, knowing that they would most likely not be able to eat at the places the bus stopped.

The invited me to eat with them.

We shared one plate and split up naan, HOMEMADE naan. We shared with each other from our lives- a beautiful conversation.
As i was getting up to leave, J.K. said to me, "This is our custom." I looked at him confused, and he said, "To share, to eat together. To welcome the stranger."

My heart melted in my chest- here they were, from an entirely different country, in a fast food resaurant in which no one had welcomed them- not even others from the tour they were on...and they welcomed me as a stranger.

How beautiful.

We said goodbye, and i took Asha's hands in mine and thanked her for feeding me, turned to J.K. and he bowed his head with palms together and said, "Namaste." Surprised and honored, i did the same.

Namaste. We were honoring and recognizing the light of God in each other.

I left, walking slowly to my car, thanking God for such a blessing as this.