Indian Parents

Despite all of the countless times that I’ve moved, shifted, relocated, and transitioned in my lifetime, it never gets easier. Gearing up to leave a place you have come to love is all the more painful when you consider all of the wonderful people you will be leaving.

Joshua and Anita were two people with which I formed the most unlikely of attachments. They were the host family for my friend, Jen, during her three month stay in Chennai, so it was destined that we should meet during my first few weeks in India. For our introduction, they invited me to join them and Jen for dinner and, after a few weeks of hostel food, the invitation was a welcome reprieve. The spread was chicken lollipops, fish curry, chapatti, rice, vegetable sides, fresh fruit, and ice cream. After skipping meals and subsisting on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches my first few weeks in Chennai, I was in heaven. I left well-fed and nourished by the homey environment.

After about two months, Jen’s time in India reached its end and I anticipated the same for dinner times with Joshua and Anita. But I was wrong. They continued to invite me over for weekly dinners along with my friends, Rose and Joseph, so that we could continue to share meal times laughing over stories and seeking to understand each other’s cultures and all the differences therein. The night before Christmas Eve, we gathered around their upright piano and sang Christmas songs, holding lighted candles as we remembered the meaning of the holiday and its significance for each of our lives. It was like a picture on a Christmas card of family singing carols; only in this card, I stood out from the group externally. Within, I felt no different.

Joshua and Anita have dubbed themselves as my “Indian parents” and embraced me as a friend and daughter. I cherish the times I’ve shared with them, singing songs and encouraging one another in our faith. So, to give you a picture of the times we shared, I’m providing a link to a video of Joshua and Anita singing “Country Roads.” I love this video which I secretly filmed while they were serenading each other. There is no other word for this memory than precious. 

Country Roads