Orange County Indians Holiday Meet- Solidarity, Togetherness and Celebrations

By -

...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 that every Indian woman and her family has found here and is an integral part of. Every flight that lands in Orange county carry that one Indian family who becomes our valuable member. 


It's fun to have a  group that 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 complaints,  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 similar to what happens in a FAMILY, and this is just one of them.  

So, while we ‘sayonara’ the year 2017 with Holiday meetups,  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. I promise to stand by you in times of need and 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 and 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 an ideal family? I accept you the way I accept my own family. I know you do not come to pay my rent or buy me groceries 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 of 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




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To smooch or not to smooch.

By -
Image
I wonder if Indians smooch? They do? Really? Have they always smooched or it is some new found sexual angle? Oh, forget it! How does it matter? With our population, nothing matters. I had an idea about smooching back in school- the year 1996. You know how Chinese whisper works. When it came to ‘smooching’ what came to me was something to do with the tongue and esophagus. The implementation happened 15 years later in the most unsophisticated, an ‘atrangi’ and unhygienic way. For a middle-class Indian who is raised with the mantra- ‘ jootha nahi khate ’, smooching = sin. Unsanitary sin. Forget it! I am not a fan of a smooch. But what if my kid is? The thing is that the biological clock and the academic clock are in direct conflict when you enter your teens or hit puberty. Just when the world is putting the right kind of pressure on you to go to Stanford, your mind is solving calculus equations, your body is doing its own weird calculation...size? Inches? Bang
Read more

Nutrition and Health Nugget- HDL -The good fat needed for our body-Taking control of Cholesterol

By -
Image
Have you gone for a full-body check-up? Four health numbers tell us how healthy or not healthy we are. Blood Pressure-Which we have already covered in previous articles. The other three are Cholesterol, Blood Sugar, and BMI or Body Mass Index. HDL is good fat which should be higher than LDL, the bad cholesterol. The Cholesterol and HDL ratio should be - total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL LDL cholesterol less than 100 mg/dL HDL cholesterol above 40 mg/dL The actionable in 'mindful eating ' includes - Raising HDL Eating more fruits and vegetables and the good fat found in avocados, fish, and walnuts. Fruits-Avocados, apples(Be cautious with the serving since fruits have their portion of natural sugar too). All kinds of beans and legumes(Kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, red beans, black beans, etc.). Whole grain anytime every time-Bread or flour. Shift from whole milk to reduced-fat or fat-free. Some people also add water to their half glass of milk and then
Read more

My daughter, her first day of menstruation, her sexuality and her life.

By -
Image
Dear Love, You started your menstruation today. I know it is painful and difficult for you today, but I trust you will adjust well. I am there for you. I am glad you chose me to be your friend on this journey. I am not surprised that you knew about menstruation. It's just that knowing the right thing is essential so that you are not misinformed about all kinds of bodily changes you will observe in the near future. At a personal level, I am happy to see you and your body grow. It's a healthy sign. It's a nice feeling to see you bloom into a youthful girl brimming with enthusiasm and life. Remember, nothing changes in your life, though. You play and run, you eat and have fun the way you have been doing.  Maintain good hygiene habits and change your sanitary pad when needed. If you want to wear a white dress, go ahead. You may encounter an instance or two where you may find that you have stained your skirt or your legging. That's just an accident, and I
Read more