“Ji, papa.”
Insert pitaji, daddy, baba, abbu, bauji, appa – whatever your term of reference. “Yes, father” is a fundamental code of conformity drilled to desi children as their unquestionable submission to the patriarchal head of the household. Right from the Vedic era some 1600 BCE, desi parents have been revered as Gods living on this planet demanding a worship-like devotion from their offsprings.
My adolescent years could be divided into episodes of me and Suruj battling Continue reading
I’ve just devoured a box of Lale’s fried chicken (a recent favourite) and now sitting back in the wonderment that how fried chicken could make a person so completely content? I mean this is a cooked carcass of a bird that’s probably died a long time ago. How could the death and the fried aftermath of another living thing provide so much happiness to another? Especially to a Hindu. Continue reading
Recently at the Sydney Airport, I swung by the Clinique counter in Duty Free to pick up my usual lip colour before flight. A lovely lady in a lab coat with the prettiest of pink lipstick serving me, told that my shade was out of stock. But she could suggest some other colours that would suit my skin tone. I hate trying on makeup in stores but she was so insistent that I couldn’t say no. She pulled out some disposable brushes, the sort one would see at hospitals for scoping samples to test for scabies or something Continue reading
“Do you smoke?” asked my Friday night date as I chugged back mouthfuls of Fiji Gold draft. When I got a sceptic smirk to my negative answer, Suruj’s warning about beer on first dates floated through the clouds above. Tsk. Through out the evening the question was asked twice again, smartly, in between conversations, in case I might ‘slip’ and admit to smoking (because how could it be possible that I drink beer and not smoke, right?)
Though this had to be one of the better setups I’ve been to this year. Continue reading
The institution of marriage is getting, if not already, archaic. Approaching 2015 and there are hardly any reasons to get married these days. Everything marriages used to provide in the ye olde days is now respectfully and legally available without having to tie the knot. Home equity loans available to single people, designer sperm banks, pre-screened ‘play’-mates…
Okayyy…so perhaps it isn’t so out of fashion here in this palm-swaying island nation of mine but nothing so pristine about weddings here either. Continue reading
Family. Love them or hate them, you can’t change the fact that they’re yours. One in every 5 people will tell you that their biggest strength and support system is their family however one in every 5 people will also tell you that their biggest issue or cause of problems is also their family! Whether its the Greeks, Italians, Turks or Vietnamese despite the cultural differences and complexities, family is a matter of paramount importance to most societies in the world. Continue reading
A cousin once came to stay with us for an year to complete her studies. She was doing a unit on politics in the Pacific, took Japanese language classes in the evenings and wrote poetry. To the 13-year old me, she was the coolest person I knew. Her poetry had rubbed off on me and I would spend hours at night reading my dabbling out loud to her. An year later, she moved back home and the last I heard of her was that she got married to a fellow in the interiors of Tavua, couple of months after moving back. Continue reading
Dear Mum,
I am writing to let you know that Bharat Matrimony is really not for me. Ever since ZeeAsia has run those Assisted Matrimony adverts on their channel, I know you’ve been convinced that that’s the ultimate solution to my ‘single’ problem. I also know that your sister’s husband’s cousin’s niece had also met someone from the interrnet so you are a 100% certain that this thing will work. But I should tell you that it probably won’t for me. You see mum, I am a 90’s girl. I grew up in the late 80’s and early 90’s and I am all about old-school communication. Let me explain.
Continue reading
My grandmother died last Friday. She was about 91 years old. The past couple of days has been a whirl with funeral arrangements, family dramas and the slight adjustment of our daily lives for the next 2 weeks of the funeral rituals. It wasn’t till I was told that I was going to be speaking at the funeral on behalf of the family that I thought about my relationship with my grandmother. Continue reading
Shyamni 