You may have seen my byline in a few stories by now. This idea really interests me—you have given me a share of your precious weekdays for nearly six months now, but this is the first time I get to reach you on a (hopefully) slower, lazy day. I think the space and timing of a conversation make a world of difference. For instance, this week, I ended up with the chattiest Ola driver in all of Mumbai. During the two-hour ride to the airport (I know), I went through a mountain of his life events—his education, his marriage, his ambition of owning a fleet of cabs, and bits of conversations he carried from other passengers. As his life unfolded while we zoomed through the twilight bokeh of oncoming traffic, the weight of his entirely separate but equally vibrant existence started to weigh on me. I think there's even a word for that feeling—sonder. As a correspondent, it's essential that we step into other people's shoes. Of course, that is extremely difficult, and honestly, I am still terrible at it. But we keep trying. As for me, I just started on a tiny mid-year vacation that will see me hop across a bunch of places, so I am looking forward to lots of impromptu conversations with complete strangers. I hope you get to have one soon, too.
