CELEBRATION
Published in the Utne Reader , 1997 Walking down the street from Putalisadak, on the side of the busiest road in Kathmandu, I see a white-haired woman, dressed in a patuka and choli, putting big green leaves that she is taking out of her basket onto the ground. I, walking down with my New Yorkian stride, almost fail to notice them, and have to jump over them at the last moment. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see," I say, and am walking by when I realise the rudeness. I walk back. "What is it for?" I ask. "It's for the birth of a son." she explains, beaming. "It's for a son." Did you get him, then? I ask. Yes, she replies, beaming some more. Yes we did. That's wonderful news, I say. Congratulations. And what are you doing with the food, I say, noticing now that the leaves are filled with tiny portions of food. "The children," she explains. "Children will come and get them." I feel a sudden kindnes