Alone, yet together

New York made her more Indian than she was in India. Looking back she always adored India, north India more. She did not know the reasons. Somehow their culture looked appealing to her. They were westernized in a lot of ways (partly), yet had that Indian element. Women were respected more (She felt). She probably ate a lot of pastas, Chinese noodles, pizzas and sandwiches when she was in India, now her diet comprised primarily of curries (from the Indian restaurants in Lexington). Books she bought in India – Sidney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer and Ayn Rand. Now she buys Bhagvath Gita, Hinduism and Chetan Bhagath.
This was her last weekend in NYC. Hmmm, what did she want to do? Shopping (which she did almost every weekend)! Yeah, why not? She got the attention that she had when she was in India. Her colleagues telling her – Nice haircut, nice shoes and nice skirt and so on. She wanted attention primarily in her life which she realized that when she was here. New York would be very special to her. Osho says “ You grow when you are alone” . She was alone in New York , yet she never felt that way. She felt more at ease than she was with people. She could do whatever she wanted, she need not find out what the other person wants and reach a compromise on what they wanted to do. Sometimes just doing what you want can give you lots of happiness and make you forget what you want. Was she a loner? Not really.
So her last weekend, she was sure she wanted to go to few places – Central park, have a mysore dosa, watch an Indian flick. She checked out the listings and found Aisha. She set out early to explore the city stopping at parks and enjoying nature at its very best.
Sometimes looking at your kind of people can give you a great feeling of connection. That’s how she felt when she got into the movie theatre that smelled of samosas.Seeing people dressed in salwar suits and sarees made her happy. She got the ticket and got herself a nice seat. She sat sitting and reveling in her new shoes and dress (that she got in a sale –she was a bargain shopper). She had her earphones on, as always. She heard a feeble voice near her “Is someone coming here?” .She looked up and saw a woman in her late fifties wearing a silk saree printed “Om” all across. Reminded her of her periamma. She said “No one”. The lady said “Do you mind if I sit here? “ Of course not”, said she! I will address the lady as “periamma” and her as “she”.
Periamma started talking “These seats are not so good as American theatres are!”
She “Oh, I thought they are a lot better after Ambani bought them”
Periamma “Obviously! But still they are not as good as American theatres”
She “Oh!”
Periamma” But they don’t censor the movies here, They showed Kites with all the uncensored scenes”
Is this what happens when traditional Indian women come to New York? She later found out that Periamma lived in Manhattan since 1974, had a son who was a doctor in San Diego, two daughters - One near her apartment and the other in New Jersey. Her children had all gone to attend a wedding in New Jersey.
Periamma said” I already attended the engagement. These weddings are so boring! I thought I wanted to watch a hindi movie today” She felt a deep connection, she thought would probably be like her in her late fifties. She hated attending weddings. She didn’t want one either. She wanted a register marriage “”alaipayuthey style”, yet her parents insisted on the wedding.
Periamma seemed a lot knowledgeable about Hindi film industry. Periamma spoke about the actresses and their politics and knew about almost all hindi movies.
“I read star dust”, It gives me a lot of info about hindi movies. I missed Raavan . How was it?” Periamma said.
“Yea, you are asking the right person, I thought”
The twenty minutes seemed like an eternity when she spoke about Aishwarya Rai and her lovers, Deepika Padukone and her father, Sonam Kapoor and how she was struggling – I enjoyed it. I like to know what the celebrities do.
As the movie started, she felt so connected to the periamma. Sometimes you have to be alone to bring new people into your lives. This is not about two people different coming together. Its about two people so similar bought together by fate. Sometimes you have to let go of your old feelings, thoughts , ideas , memories and people to make room for new ones.
When the movie finished, they thought “ we are all alone, yet together !”