Family

During the past two years, my Nana has become incredibly savvy when it comes to technology. Not only has he mastered instant messaging and calling on WhatsApp, and navigating his favorite shows on Netflix, he has discovered the joys of GIFs. Every morning, he sends me a good morning message, which is accompanied by a few, specially curated GIFs. While most of my WhatsApp conversations are simply an exchange of “I miss you” and “Lots of love”, there are some conversations revolved around finding a - his words, not mine - “a suitable young man to marry”. And while questions like this are difficult to answer - much to his displeasure, they often give me a chuckle and some reassurance knowing even though I haven’t seen him in over a year, his priorities have not changed.

I called him yesterday, and frankly, it broke my heart a little hearing how much he misses us and hearing his frustration with the pandemic.

I miss him and everyone else everyday, and I still can’t believe I haven’t seen my grandparents, and the rest of my family (including @avantika.vohra yes I love and miss you)

I chose to apply for Teach for India last year not only because I love to teach, and because it might be the only activity that never fails to bring a smile to my face and brightens my day...but Nani has been sick for a few years, and I had missed spending so much time with her, Nana, Dadi during the years I was at university. All I wanted was to spend more time with my family, in my country (a country that I haven’t lived in since I was 2 years old), and at our only “home” (I say this because our home in Gurgaon is the first my parents own that isn’t rented out, but rather, set up with half of our furniture, all of our family photos and made to be our forever home).

I’m frustrated, I’m upset, I’m emotional, and while I’m incredibly grateful to be with my parents, have a full time job, live in a safe environment...not being able to be with the rest of my family for more than a year has begun to take a toll, and I can only hope to see them soon. I’ve been saying this since last March, but there isn’t much else I can do besides that.

I reply every morning to Nana, I compliment his GIFs with my favorite emojis. I call Nani on Tuesdays and Thursdays when she doesn’t have dialysis. I wave and say hello to Dadi when Papa calls her in the evening. I annoy my Masi as per usual while she enjoys her weekly Corona Extras. And of course, the rampant meme exchanges, and the dramatic FaceTime rants are saved for my cousin Avantika.

I miss you.

That’s all.