Chhoti si Asha

As usual, it was refreshing hear the clanky grungy almirah open. With frail quivering hands my ageing mother lifted an ornately decorated necklace; " पूरी  ज़िन्दगी महनत की है  इस दिन के  लिए. एक एक पाई जुटा दी. बस एक ही छोटी आशा है, एक क्यूटी क्यूटी गुडिया दे दे ना ". Another bahurani is about to join us. Mom, a radiologist and real estate investor, is eager to find gratification in another set of grandchildren. Dotty is now almost a young lady. My brother is planning to deliver on his filial obligation. This is a strange time for us. When I was 15, I thought we would all be loosely knit family. We would all be settled in different timezones and would rarely ever meet. Our parents were both working people with diverging interests, and if that was not enough, our generation resisted indoctrination into either. Maybe it is unfamiliarity that generated respect. We tried the cosmopolitan mix-n-match approach and over the 8 years or so that followed, realized, like many others in our generation, that family meant a lot more to us, more than we might ever have imagined. So here we are, I quit my job and my first world lifestyle to return and take charge of family matters. It is something most of us Indians miss in foreign lands. With my mom, I have a common interest in real estate investment and in farming. It has been years since I met my adoring chachis and loving cousins - I wonder if they still look up to me for career and business ideas - I remember brainstorming the prospects of a clandestine love affair, two marriage proposals - both sisters, and hearing out on career plans. I remember Rina wanted to be a Harvard MBA and Bina wanted to be an architect. Regardless of how my suggestions affect people, it is nice to have a say. Most importantly though, I am back because I want Mom to have dotty around. Her face lights up when she sees my daughter. Suvidha, a corporate executive, enjoys my mom's godmotherly encouragement in career matters.  We are waiting with doting eyes to be joined by a woman, and in the near future, a child. Sometimes, you search the whole world for happiness and find it in your own backyard.