Modern Family Archives - Page 3 of 8

Call Me By Maa’s Name: Why I Dropped My Father’s Last Name as a Tribute to My Mother

I inherited my surname from my father, a man who left my mother and me when I was 12. By changing my last name to my maa’s name, I have chosen to pay tribute to her. It’s an act of defiance against social norms, which insist we carry our father’s family name into the future.

Aakash Ranison June 17, 2016

Modern Family

Why Indian Mothers Are the Best Momsplainers

“Momsplaining”, unlike mansplaining, doesn’t come from a place of malice. It’s a form of affection that Desi Moms dish out and involves regularly sassing out your kids for their supposed incompetency.

Jackie Thakkar June 14, 2016

Modern Family

Mere Paas “Maa-si” Hai: Do We Thank Our Almost-Mothers Enough?

Mothers are a separate species, the collective reason for a warm, comforting glow in the lives of so many of us. But after I lost my mother, I found pieces of her in other women in my life. Some of them look like her, some of them sound like her, and I realise that my mother continues to live and look after me through all these “maa-sis”.

Mugdha Singh June 13, 2016

Modern Family

Shah Rukh Khan, My Distant Relative Who Never Visits

I’ve grown up with Shah Rukh Khan as a phantom presence in my house. My mother is one of those eternally stricken SRK fans, for whom he’s not just an actor, but a soulmate on celluloid.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 13, 2016

Modern Family

What I Learnt from Watching My Parents’ Relationship Fall Apart

I used to look at my parents as a team that’s in it to win it. So the day my father said that he needed to move out, I thought it was over. I was mad that my mother was not doing anything to stop him. I wondered how I would survive this. How could I have let this happen? In my version of the story, I was the only victim.

Aditi Sharma June 5, 2016

Modern Family

Still a Girl: The Side of Our Mothers We Refuse to See

I used to view my mother’s life as a gilded cage that she’d been forced into. But a few years of age have taught me that our mothers’ version of adulthood preserves the childhood that our generation often loses by the time we turn teens.

Nimisha Misra June 2, 2016

Modern Family

Seeking the Individual Behind My Late Father

Our Parents, to us at least, rarely exist as individuals with their own concerns, anxieties and aspirations. But after my father passed away, peacefully, I reconnected and discovered different sides of him that most men, maybe, hide behind the image of the father figure. I’m glad he got to live those lives.

Ajay Chacko June 2, 2016

Modern Family

Love in the Time of Cancer

When my mother’s cancer came, I got a crash course in adulthood. I had to become the mother that my mother needed.

Ananya N May 30, 2016

Modern Family

Shaadi Ke Side Effects: When a Maharashtrian Marries a Marwari

Maharashtrians are frugal, Marwaris are shaukeen. A Maharashtrian’s wedding budget is a Marwari’s lehenga budget. I married a Marwari and though our cultures take us in two different directions, we’ve found a place to make things work. It’s called midway.

Ramjaane May 28, 2016

Modern Family

Help Me! My Father is a Bhakt

I don’t recall my father ever displaying any obvious political preferences, but the turning point came during the 2014 Modi wave. Our mini flare-ups soon escalated into full-blown brawls, and conversations began to end the way they do on the internet, with me being labelled a naive Congi.

Aditya Bhalla May 22, 2016