So, what’s this all about, you ask?

 So, what’s this all about, you ask?


Well, I thought it would be fun to keep a sort of journal filled with anecdotes uniquely mine—snapshots from my life’s journey stretching continents and culture. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find yourself chuckling, or spotting some parallels in your own story.

Alongside these stories, you’ll find a few dreamlike images inspired by the places that have shaped me across continents. See if you can spot hints of where I’ve been—and maybe where I’m headed. Drop your guesses in the comments!

Now, I’m not saying you’re a Midwest mom with roots in India, but I’m betting you can at least relate to the “joy” (read: chaos) of parenting—or not parenting—smart-ass teens. Because honestly, “smart-ass” and “teen” might as well be synonyms at this point.

I think my childhood was charmed—I must’ve been cashing in on some serious good karma banked by my parents or grandparents. For context: Kolkata is bursting silly with ponds. They’re everywhere. And no, they’re not fenced. Survival of the fittest, baby.

Thankfully, I was a skinny toddler.

When I was about two, I sneaked away from my ayah (that’s nanny, for you) and toddled—yes, you guessed it—straight to a pond and fell in. I didn’t know how to swim, but luckily, this particular pond was choked with giant taro leaves and roots. I somehow managed to hang onto them until my guardian angel—disguised as the teen son of a next-door neighbor, probably playing hooky and fishing—spotted me and swam over to fish me out.

(Not exactly a documentary image of the day, but let’s roll with it. Picture this: me, tiny and fearless, floating on taro like a Ghibli heroine. Ducks and frogs probably held a council meeting to figure out how to save me.)

Let’s just say I wasn’t the last in the family to wander into trouble. Years later, my younger one visited India, met a baby goat on a working farm, and firmly insisted it was a puppy. (He was two, in his defense.)

And I may or may not have inherited my dad’s logic, who once advised me—if I was going to play hooky from school to watch a Bollywood blockbuster—I should at least go to a better theater in a nicer part of town.

But more on that later.

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