Kusum Choppra

pichele dino mujhe ek bariha compliment mila facebook pe ek saheli ne kahaa kusumji you look very feminine and so indian” ispe bahut khushi hui. indian hone pe mujhe garv hain. shuru se. jab Main college me thi, tab ek baar femina se best letter ke rs. 25 bhi mile the. us chhithi mein Maine likha tha ki mere chehera truly indian tha kyon ki log yeh nahi pehchaan paate the ki Main sindhi hoon. koi punjabi/ maharshtran/ bengali to koi mussalman bhi samjhata tha. ab Main aur bhi indian hoon, ek sindhan jis ne ek punjabi fauji se shaadi ki, hamara jamai sindhi-parsi hai, bahu jain aur hum sab gujarat mein rahete hain!! saara hindustan hua hamara na? Main pali bhari videsh men. is ka matlab? ek overseas indian mansikta (mentality) jo hindustan ko nashili ankhon se dekhti hain, bachpan ka alarrpan yaad karti hai and bharat ki kamiyaan zyaada nazar aati hain. isliye khush naseeb hoon ki 13 saal ki umar mein hi wapas lauti. march 1963 mein Bharat mein hamara swagat anokha hua. Hame P...

Karva Chauth is supposed to be a joyous occasion. It is another matter of course that it can border on the ludicrous on its silver screen version – Glitzy sets and huge, laden tables for a Hindu, vegetarian version of an Iftar party, and that curious, perfectly round water body specially created for the event. Anyone who has actually kept the fast knows that real life is quite different. Dressing up is probably the best part of the tedious fast, but making it through the puja and waiting for the moon to rise takes up all the remaining energy. How many actually have the vigor for partying either before or after that? Part of the fun is to gather in a circle to complete the thalis ritual before sunset. Every family has its own hoary tradition (hamare wahan to aisa hi hota hai) of what to do with the diya which is lit on the thali. Most families have one diya, while others have two, one of which goes over the woman’s shoulder after the puja. How would that be possible on the glitzy party ...