Date: March 16, 2014 (Sunday)
Place: Open Terrace Cafe, Miramar Mall, Taipei
I was on an official business trip to Taiwan from Bangalore. The week was hectic but the weekend was fun. I had travelled many places nearby Taipei City the day earlier and roamed around the city on Sunday as well. I returned to my hotel around 6 pm and went out for dinner. After having dinner, I just wanted to sit, relax and listen to some live music being played on the open terrace cafe on Miramar Mall. This cafe had become my favourite place to sit and relax in the evening. They had great coffee and great live music. I had always enjoyed live music no matter the language. The music being played was a mix of a few English and more Chinese songs but I enjoyed them equally. The environment was lively and people were enjoying their food and drinks with their friends and family. The locals of Taipei has this "relaxed" attitude which I liked very much. Although being a fast growing metropolis, the life around the weekend was slow, smooth and quite enjoyable.
I reached the cafe around 7:30 pm, ordered a cup of latte and sat in a chair, a little to the back but in a direct line of sight with the stage where live music was being played. The singer sang mostly Chinese songs that day but she had a great voice and the band was awesome. I was enjoying every sip of my latte and the music.
After sometime, I noticed a group of people, around 8-10 in number. They came and went straight to the counter and were talking to the waitress. From their activity, I guessed that they may be planning something like birthday or anniversary. They arranged the tables and chairs and the waitress cleared some tables from the front row. Then they disappeared from there which was kinda odd but the music again grabbed my attention and I started enjoying the music.
Around 8 pm, a couple came and sat in the table just in front of me. They ordered something and they were holding hands - enjoying the music. The guy was telling something to the girl and she was laughing the whole time. The situation was pretty adorable. The singer came forward and asked something to another group sitting just in front of the stage. I guess she might have asked for a song choice because when she went back to the stage and started singing, the group sitting in the front welcomed the song the song with a loud clap. This song was slow and the music was a little bit romantic. The couple in front of me were enjoying this song quietly without talking. The song finished and so did my coffee. I called the waitress and ordered another latte.
The singer came forward once again from the stage and was telling something in the mic. The band was playing slow romantic music and she arrived near to the couple in front of me. She was telling something to them and so both of them stood up, listening to her. Then something magical happened. The guy turned to his right and looking at the girl, he kneeled down. He took out a small jewellery box and popped the ring in front of the girl. Everyone started clicking pictures so I also took out my cellphone and took a photograph. The girl was completely speechless and looked kinda surprised and happy at the same time. The singer announced something and everyone stood up and were looking at them. I also stood up and noticed that the girl was crying already. She looked very happy and even though her mouth was closed I could observe that she was smiling. She just nodded her head up and down and everyone around clapped. He put the ring on her and gave her a very tight hug for some seconds. Everyone started shouting and then the group which had disappeared earlier, returned with a champagne and balloons. Everyone started shouting and hugging the couple saying congratulations.
That was something really beautiful that I was lucky to experience. I had never seen a real proposal before this and haven't seen any afterwards as well. The environment and the celebrations that followed was amazing. Proposals like this are rare in Nepal and the whole South Asian region. Their friends had already surrounded them. I also said congratulations when the guy was looking at my direction. He nodded and I took the last sip of latte. As I walked out of there, I was very glad that I just saw a real proposal.
I hope that they are happily married and having the best time of their lives now.
