Page 3 - Letter to Indian Parents.pdf
P. 3

else—how could I let go of a top job                        more than anything else, I will
     offer? Wasn't it you, Mummy, who made                         always love you. So please, dear Indian

    me coffee when I was studying for my                         parents, wherever in the world you are,
    board-exams late at night? Wasn't it you,                   understand today that your daughters are
    Papa, who told me that I was no less than                   your sons, and that your sons are your
    a boy, that I was smarter than my brother,                  daughters. In 2014, gender boundaries

    and that I should never let go of my                        are blurred and boys and girls are
    dreams? Wasn't it both of you, Mummy                        equal—or almost. I do hope that as you
    and Papa, who were overjoyed when I                         raise your daughter into adulthood, you
    came first in the 12th? Then how can you                     cherish and respect her choices, her life,

    suddenly change tracks? How can you                         and most importantly, her dreams.
    suddenly expect me to dump all my
    dreams (that you helped me dream) and

    marry a man who I don't even know?

    I know that I am approaching my 30s and

    it worries you. I know that you think that
    my options are becoming narrower; I
    know that the one thing that you pray
    about is that I settle down with a nice man

    of my liking—and of yours. I know that                                 Ira Trivedi
    more than anything else—more than a job
    promotion or a salary raise—you want me
    to become a mother. You worry that I will                   Ira Trivedi is a bestselling author

    remain unmarried—it is your worst                           and yoga acharya. She has
    nightmare. I am sorry, Mummy and                            written eight books, including
    Daddy. It is not my intention to hurt you, to               fiction, nonfiction and children's
    cause you pain or embarrassment. But I                      books. Her book India in Love,

    am an adult now and my life is my own. I                    Marriage, and Sexuality in the
    take full responsibility of my decisions,                   21st century is a landmark book
    marital or otherwise.                                       on India's new social revolution in

                                                                marriage and sexuality.
    There is a chance (a small chance) that I
    won't get married and become a mother.
                                                                DISCLAIMER: Views expressed above
    But that doesn't mean that my life will end.
                                                                are the author's own.
    And neither will yours. I will remain your
      daughter, I will still love myself, and





     P.G. Better Living
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