Orange County Indians Holiday Meet- Solidarity, Togetherness and Celebrations
...and Phew!!! it ended. The gaiety, the merriment, a giggle
here and a guffaw there, warm hugs, 'Hi, how are you?' , chit chats, joshing
and the color ‘RED’ tinted the OC sky with empressement of togetherness and
Indian-ness at the Orange County Indians holiday meet today.
Dear Santa,
Thank you! you see a better vocabulary other than this is hard to
find so I will stick to the ordinary yet the sincerest and impacting. Thank you
for this community which every Indian woman and her family has found here and
is an integral part of. Every flight that lands in Orange county has that one Indian family who becomes our valuable member.
It's fun to have a group which constitutes of such variety- the 6:00am 'Good Morning' senders , the 10:30pm 'shayaras’, the questers in search of
information ranging from plumbing to calculus tutor and the responders who
never fail to impress. We are the ultimate Google for each other. Sundar Pichai, are you listening?
To an outsider, we are just a WhatsApp group, to each other we
are no less than a floatation device. It may not appear so but try us during hard
times or a rainy day. Our umbrellas magically spread out far and wide, sheltering
each other.
Don't be mislead but. It is not as utopian as it sounds.We do have our own share of problems. As a group, just like any
other, there are countless bickering’s, cribbing and complains, backbiting and begrudging, we suffer from our own human frailties, however we
accept them with a pinch of salt and chili (I like that combo hence;))When we
have umpteen dance academies, educators, caterers, beauticians and homepreneurs,
isn't it reasonable to clink and clatter? The pandemonium has its own benefits...we
get to know we exist, though that is not all to make a community thrive? It
thrives when all learn to coexist with their imperfections and make space
for each other, reach out, touch and say 'I care'. This is exactly what happens
in a FAMILY and this is just one of them.
So, while we ‘sayonara’ the year 2017 with Holiday meet ups, Disco nights and New Year parties, I have something to say to each
OC Indian woman-
I feel secure here (away from my family and all the faces which
are stamped 'near and dear' back in India) because I know you exist.
You may be a silent follower of the group or an active
enthusiast, you may be someone or no one or anyone, I truly value that you are
with me and I am with you. In times of need, I promise to stand by you and
would look up to you when adversity strikes me. We all want the coveted piece
of pie, to some it is the bread butter, dosa and samosa, the competition is
acceptable, justifiable, pellucid and to a large extent necessary. This
doesn't, shouldn't stain the bonhomie, the camaraderie, the neighborliness, folksiness we
share and the identity that we carry - Being Indian.
I am glad I have a family to fall back
on. You have no idea how lonely and scary it can get here. It might not be the
perfect family but who has a perfect family? I accept you the way I
accept my own family. I know you do not come to pay my rent or buy me grocery
from Ansar, however that is not all.
“It's a commonly
expressed and rather nice, romantic notion that we are all "sisters"
and "brothers."
Let's be real. Fact is, we might be better served to accept that we are all siblings.
Siblings fight, pull each other's hair, steal stuff, and accuse each other indiscriminately.
But siblings also know the undeniable fact that they are the same blood, share the same origins, and are family.
Even when they hate each other.
And that tends to put all things in perspective.”
― Vera Nazarian”
Let's be real. Fact is, we might be better served to accept that we are all siblings.
Siblings fight, pull each other's hair, steal stuff, and accuse each other indiscriminately.
But siblings also know the undeniable fact that they are the same blood, share the same origins, and are family.
Even when they hate each other.
And that tends to put all things in perspective.”
― Vera Nazarian”
Have a good night my Indian sibling.
Namrata
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