Indian Parents Archives

Broken Bones to Broken Heart: My Family’s “Thuk Patti” Quick Fix for Everything

Thuk patti is not just a temporary fix, it is a spot of amelioration. When my father left his parents’ home, my grandma grudgingly agreed but not without thuk patti: We had to visit every Sunday.

Preeti Vangani July 29, 2016

Modern Family

Folks in Town: How to Parent-Proof Your House

I live a dual life. I’m an outspoken liberal guy in the streets, and a religious, paavam one in the sheets. So when my parents decided to visit me after three years, I upturned mattresses to look for old condom packets and purchased tons of room spray to get rid of any lingering cigarette smell.

Vishal Dayama July 10, 2016

Health

Modiji Did What I Couldn’t! Convinced My Parents to Stay at Home

For some, PM Narendra Modi’s advice to wash hands and self-quarantine is a rehash of what we already know. But Modiji was really having a heart-to-heart with the nation’s boomer parents, who’ve spent the last two weeks scoffing at “karunavirus”. The roles have reversed and millennials are having to parent their parents.

Kahini Iyer July 1, 2016

Love and Sex

Mom and Dad, Let’s Talk About Sex: Sincerely, All Indian Women

My parents had never had the sex talk with me, so I reasoned that they wanted to hear nothing different from the script – even as a grown-up woman, I never told them that I had sex. Until, my long-term boyfriend asked me to have the talk. What happened next will shock you.

Urmi Bhattacheryya June 1, 2016

POV

I’ll See You at Happy Hours, Mum and Dad

Our parents have come a long way: They can accept live-in relationships and unconventional career choices. But for Indian children, especially daughters, drinking with our parents remains the last taboo, the last frontier to be breached.

Sahiba May 15, 2016

Gender

“You’re a Good Girl Na?”: Why We’re Raising Our Girls Wrong

If we need women to break out of the exhausting idea of selflessness, then pressuring them to “be a good girl” is exactly the sort of thing that needs to stop. What we need is a culture that sees dissent and opinion as signs of progress, beyond the myopic view of parental disobedience.

Riddhi K April 30, 2016

POV

Delayed Teenage Crisis: What Moving Away From Home at 26 Taught Me

While my friends moved abroad to study at 18, I’m leaving only at 26. Uprooting my life at 26 makes me feel like a cross between two kinds of people: a child that’s practising cutting vegetables, and an entry-level yuppie sage.

Sarvesh Talreja April 28, 2016

Modern Family

The Best Gift Today’s Mothers Can Give their Children is Some Unmonitored “Me Time”

The constant supervision to create a model kid, robs children of solitude: A solitude that will overwhelm them with its monotony before getting them to move their ass to experiment in the kitchen, scribble Rupi Kaur-like poetry on their notepads, and perhaps discover the true meaning of life.

Purba Ray April 20, 2016

POV

Why Do We Celebrate Bhai Dooj but Ridicule Karwa Chauth?

We are extremely vocal about the inherent patriarchy of festivals like Karwa Chauth, but we still celebrate Bhai Dooj. This is a strange dichotomy because both festivals are based on the same concept – that man is stronger than woman, who is always in need of protection.

Ashwina Garg April 3, 2016

POV

Indigo, Discrimination and Raising A Special Needs Child: A Mother’s View

As the mother of a special needs child, the Indigo incident was triggering. For it brought back memories of the times where I have fought discrimination and societal ignorance to get my child to be treated fairly.

Sonam Patel March 16, 2016