Modern Family Archives

How My Parents Discovered Love After I Moved Out

Even years after their marriage, my parents remained complete strangers to each other. Their only common connection was their children. And then my sister and I moved out.

Poulomi Das July 29, 2016

Modern Family

Mohabbat ke Dushman: When Fathers Were Like DDLJ’s Amrish Puri

Younger millennials will never understand that we once lived in a world where fathers were milder, yet authentic, replicas of Amrish Puri in DDLJ.

Preeti Vangani July 27, 2016

Modern Family

Amma and I: Roommates turned BFFs

Amma and I were put together in a room by fate, but our relationship has bloomed because of trust and empathy. In fact, I can’t recall having a better friend in the truest sense of the word.

Usri Basistha July 24, 2016

Modern Family

A Death Shower for my Parents

As Amma and Appa age, I think about their death frequently. I dread the certainty of their passing, but for them, it is nothing more than the happy end to long, fulfilling lives.

Lalita Iyer July 23, 2016

Modern Family

My Mama’s Baby in Sickness and in Health

My mother and I lived under the same roof after two decades and clashed, as mothers and daughters do, about “settling down”. All that changed when I got a renal tumour.

Sowmiya Ashok July 21, 2016

Modern Family

Believe Your Mother When She Says “You’ll Know When You Become a Parent”

There was a point in our lives as a couple when we had the exact certitude you feel about someone’s parenting skills – when we were sure a toddler could be handled, managed, and disciplined better. That point was before we became parents.

Tony Sebastian July 19, 2016

Modern Family

Minimalism Ki Maa Ki ***! Why It’s Impossible for Middle-Class Indians to Declutter

My mother believes that we are way ahead on the minimalism curve because unlike her friends she does not preserve restaurant bills from two years ago. But when I ask her to throw away the torn T-shirts and Absolut Vodka bottles, she insists that they deserve a second life as dusters and money plant holders.

Anuradha Ganapathy July 19, 2016

Modern Family

How the Bengali Father Has Mastered the Art of Serial Napping

Calcutta is full of quiet, wise fathers who have long adopted afternoon naps as a shared reaction to happiness, affection, anger, and exhaustion. Take my father for instance, over the years he has napped through celebrations, movies, and wailing babies on flights

Poulomi Das July 18, 2016

Modern Family

Parents in Cars Getting Cocky: When Will Indian Parents Stop Backseat Driving?

Who makes their child ferry them to the farthest places in the city, doesn’t pay for gas, and then complains about his driving? Every Indian parent sitting on the backseat.

Nihal Bambulkar July 17, 2016

Modern Family

My Runaway Mother

After my parents parted ways, my mother moved to Spain. The world around me erupted in the sound of an angry sizzle. How could she abandon a teenage daughter?

Tia Basu July 16, 2016