Same Places, More faces

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It is just so that Union Square happens to fall in my way anywhere I go. Many, I believe, will confess so.

What draws us here is the rhythm of the place. Home to the wandering feet, surrounded by a host of stores and restaurants; this is where the idle spend their time chattering, skateboarding, juggling, reading, dancing, playing chess and taking power naps. Back in my school days, I was whiling away many of my evenings here…crackling shrill at the next best joke my friends offered, hanging around for hours and finally, yet slowly, feeling the cool breeze pick up and the humming getting quieter around us.

Calling it a people watching destination would be underestimating its place in this city’s maze. Union Square is this city’s heart beat. It is where myriad faces come together as one. Not just different skin colors, but also ages, professions, attitudes and attires.

If you lay down on the concrete or the grass, you could hear the traffic around you, a smattering of people talking, laughing, someone calling someone’s name, skateboards grinding, vendors selling. Stories unfold in wisps of conversations overheard.

If you took off your shirt, you wouldn’t be out-of-place, although one block down the road, you might have been.
If you took out your camera, your eyes would meet theirs and understand each other.

In fact, this is not about people watching at all. This is about just being with people. An understanding that comes from sharing a space and life in this city, with them.

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