Ink and thought
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04/15/2022
You know you’re home,
When you see the great blue mountains capped with snow.
Like the sky embracing the water.
Or a father paddle boarding with his daughter.
Children learning to sail,
While the sun sparkles it’s trail,
On the mighty deep blue,
We find calmness to be a hue.
The forest and trees with their green,
Beckoning us to learn to be seen.
I’m 22 going on 12,
In my youth I often delve,
Answers to questions unknown
Actions to find atone.
I’ve found peace at home.
-Manmitha Deepthi
.and.writers
11/19/2021
Growing up, I’ve always felt out of place.
Even when at home.
Having South Indian genes in my body that grew up in Gujarat.
Not speaking either language correctly,
For blatantly disregarding grammar in Gujarati and phonetics in Malayalam.
I’ve grown to embrace both the cultures; be it Navratri or Onam, Khandvi or Idli.
So when someone asks me where am I from? What shall I say?
My mind says Gujarat; but my heart says Kerala.
It’s a conundrum I drown in occasionally. Before I end up saying India.
And then try to avoid the next question of where in India? Because believe it or not there are more cultures within India than outside. With this multicultural country comes multiple stereotypes associated with it. And it is nothing more than stereotypes- untrue assumptions of a particular community; for all the Indians I met were astonishingly friendly. Finding them in a foreign land made us learn new values from our differences.
Moving to a new country at eighteen has undoubtedly broadened my social skills. Living in an island miles away from my own blood and kin. Learning new traditions and decorating Christmas trees.
I think I find home in the people I meet.
Not the places that I’ve lived.
I find home in the goat curry my Bengali friend cooks; I find home in watching Bollywood movies with my Canadian parents; I find home in the concerned voices of my grandparents on a long distance call; I find home in people who put my heart at ease and make my eyes smile.
I think Cecelia Ahern rightly said “home is not a place; it’s a feeling”.
So where or who is home for you?
People’s Mindset
I wish- I honestly wish
That I could change
Someone’s mindset for the better
A friend rants about her aunt
Being hypocritical and it boils my blood
To hear old women let young girls down
“These girls when they go abroad…
All they want is a boyfriend”
My friend reasons with her aunt
Subtly hinting at her grandsons scandal
He was underage and involved in things-
Rumour had it;
He got a girl pregnant
But they buried the secret in quicksand
To every girls chagrin
The aunt justified her grandson
“He is young and can have fun”
The double standards reek of patriarchy
When a girl dates more than one guy-
She’s labelled a w***e; slt shamed and shunned.
This other time I had a friend
Talking to me about Indian men in Canada
They want to find a RN to get married to
A girl who earns well.
Not for herself but for him
To fulfil his dreams-
Build his house
With Dowry.
The biggest evil that still wanders
Like a tormented soul
Hunting for its next innocent body
That might not always be strong enough
To survive
“You’ve given her too much independence”
She’s skydiving, partying in boats”
“Is she spending her mother’s-
Hard earned money or her own?”
Why should you care?
Oh wait, that’s what Indian relatives do.
They “CARE’;
More like ‘How dare!’
How dare she enjoy her life
At such a young age!
She should be bound by rules
Chained to the society’s views.
She is Me.
She is your daughter; your sister.
She is a foetus in that lady’s womb.
And she is scared.
She is judged- all the time.
Let her live her life- in her own world.
And be happy: if she breaks free
From the shackles of this sick society.
That is but only a man’s world.
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