A Big Chaotic Family Get-Together
Over the last year, COVID 19 had put us all in a very difficult space both mentally and physically. While some people were stuck with family all the time and wanted the much needed “Me time”, there were others who were left high and dry by being away from their family for a very long time. I fall in the latter category and was left bereft for more than eight months as I was stuck in a different city than my family due to work. Coming from a joint Punjabi family where my cousins are some of my closest friends and mentors and having never lived away from my family before, I found it extremely difficult to not be able to meet them for so long. When my company Samsung R&D, Bangalore finally approved my Work from Hometown request, I was highly elated. I have been working from my hometown since a few months now and yesterday, after many cancelled plans the entire extended family finally got together for a lovely dinner evening. While I was talking to my aunts and sisters, there was this immense amount of joy and happiness that made my heart smile after quite a long time of hectic work life.
My family is a typical Punjabi family which when unites creates a massive “ho-haa”, so much so that I often feel sorry for our neighbors. The major contributor of all the ballyhoo in the family is the newest member of our family, Gauranga, the youngest member of the family and son of my eldest sister. Born at the time when the pandemic had just hit the world, he had not met all the family members before and I am sure he would have been startled on seeing so many loud creatures suddenly one fine day. Although, he was not as different from us as he was shouting loudly and crying constantly for her mother’s attention. My aunt even joked “Ritika is pursuing two PHDs, one in commerce and other in handling the little devil”. But the few moments in which he laughed made our hearts melt and the evening became all the more delightful. The highlight of the evening for me was the “Bhangra” dance we all performed on nursery rhymes “Five Little Ducks” to entertain our little Gauranga.
Like every family has a raconteur who cooks the most amazing stories out of childhood memories or instances, I have my youngest aunt Monika. She recollects unique memories and presents those in a spicy way which makes us all laugh so hard. This time also, she made us all reminisce our early childhood days, the way our “Dadi’ (Grandmother) would scold everyone in a serious yet amusing way, how I would follow her around during her pregnancy days and constantly badger her to listen to the new rhymes that I had learnt in the school and how my cousin sister looked stunning on her first birthday in the most dazzling frock. It felt like ages since we all sat together and experienced such a dose of laughter.
No family get together is complete without palatable food and drinks, where comes the role of my Chachi (my father’s brother’s wife) who is the most exquisite chef of the family. We had a three course meal beginning with snacks such as veg cutlets, corn, paneer tikka and spring roll followed by pav bhaji for the dinner and finally moong dal halwa in the desert. The discussions over the food ran the gamut from education in the United States being worth the money, marriage planning for one of my sisters, the new budget released by the Modi government, belief in astrology and blind superstitions and an ingenious yet stupidly funny business idea.
As we keep growing in life and advancing in our careers, we get so engrossed in keeping up with our busy schedules that we forget the people who matter the most in our life. Such family reunions make us reassess our priorities and teach us to press pause and find time to cherish the most coveted moments in our past and spend time with the valuable people in our lives. With images of chortling people and a satisfied palate, I expressed gratitude to God and had the most peaceful sleep yesterday.
