Wondering what inspires Niru’s blogs?
Niru loves exploring the joys and challenges of being Indo-Canadian woman, parent and citizen. She lives it, so she writes about it!
For more, check out this Masalamommas interview.
Niru's Blogs
Keeping Your Heritage Alive for Third Generation Canadian Kids
When I was pregnant with my first child, my husband said to me, "You know I'm going to speak in French with our baby, don't you?"
Without thinking, I blurted, "But what about Hindi?!"
It seemed odd, and more than a little ironic, that our South Asian baby would be raised in French by two South Asian parents.
At the Intersection of Many Languages
Many of my warmest childhood memories are inextricably linked to language: cozy Saturday mornings at home with my dad playing his favorite ghazals on our record player; listening to the cacophony of chatter as my mom and her friends gathered in the kitchen at dinner parties to clean up and make a huge pot of masala chai; listening to hundreds of people unite in prayer and the singing of melodic bhajans at the temple; feeling close to mataji, the ‘grandmother of our community’.
Growing Up Bollywood
One sunny afternoon a couple of summers ago, my husband and I were strolling along the boardwalk at the Beaches, and paused at a bench to soak in the sights and sounds of summer. A young woman, the mother of three energetic little kids, paused to catch her breath at the same bench, and it was not long before we struck up a lively conversation. She was of Greek heritage, we told her we were of Indian heritage.
“Oh,” she exclaimed and began singing, “Aap Jaisa Koi Meri Zindagi Mai Aye….”
New Indo-cool - The Girl with the Henna Tattoo
Last week, I was standing in line at a Shoppers store when the young woman just ahead of me caught my eye. She was slender and tall, with a pretty fresh face and long soft hair. Trendy in her cutoff shorts and small tee, she looked like what you would imagine a youthful Seventeen Magazine cover girl model to look like.
But that is not what got my attention. Rather, it was her right hand...
Desperately Seeking the “True Canadian Neighbourhood”
No sweat, we thought. If there is anywhere in Canada, perhaps even in the world, where we could live in a global village, it would be in Toronto. After all, Toronto is known as the multicultural capital of the world, with almost half its population made up of visible minorities. In our mind’s eye, we could see it clearly: South Asians, Chinese, Greeks, Poles, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, Latinos, Blacks, Whites, Browns, everyone living side-by-side across the city. Surely not impossible to find, right?...
