Friendly strangers

You know what I wanted to tell you guys?
Despite all the frustration of negotiating what the hell people are trying to communicate, one thing I truly love and feel refreshed by is that children are not afraid of strangers generally. So many times now I have seen mothers dining with their shopping buddies and not-too-busy waiters pick up the children and play with them as the mothers finish their meals. In a store you can smile at a child without the kid’s face becoming cloudy and furrowing into the folds of his/her mother’s clothes. They readily pick up conversation with you in movie theaters, restaurants, shopping, and look puzzled if you don’t respond or ignore them.
Once I was sitting somewhere and this little kid leaned on me to support himself while he fixed his shoe. I was startled and looked around for his guardian. His mom sort of smiled at me and hurried her kid along.
People often make comparisons between Mumbai and new york city, but the general friendliness of children is one major difference. Nyc kids are very wary of strangers at an early age. They always seek the permission of their guardians to speak to strangers before engaging in conversation.
Here people don’t mind if you start talking to their children. This freaked me out at first, but it’s kind of nice, the trust. The presence of children seems to be an equalizer in a place where social/class distinctions are very clearly drawn lines.