I grew up in a joint family with grandparents, uncles and cousins
and whole lot of relatives. Mr Husband grew in a nuclear family, his parents and siblings. My kids grew seeing only us. 3 different childhood experiences, with different learning styles, philosophy and lessons learnt.
My India trip brought many things to the surface. The relationship we have with extended family and how we connect is one of them. Over the years distance did matter. I have lots of cousins but I lost touch with some of them but a few I am still pretty close to. During this visit I felt that their children are carrying forward the legacy. While most of our time was spent with immediate family on both the sides I did get to meet some of my cousins. In Durg I could meet my Bua’s( Aunt- dad’s sister) entire clan and that was so much fun.
The next generation kids chose a place, decided on location “Indian coffee house”. I wondered how they knew their bua ( me) has a thing for ICH.
One of my cousins picked me up and took me there. Upon meeting and spending time with them I was in awe of how they all were (cousins in next generation) in sync with each other. Late teens to early twenties, they all were chatting, coordinating, ordering, taking care of seating and making sure everyone was comfortable. A group of 3 generations with different eating habits, it was fun to see the youngsters choosing dishes keeping everyone’s palette in mind and ordering enough.
During dinner they were enjoying themselves and making sure everyone was well fed, service was good and food was placed in the right places. Now they all are in different places for studies and work but instagram and WhatsApp has kept them connected. I was lucky to be “followed” by some of them that night :)
My cousins are amazing but their kids are now have my heart and love. I cannot wait to see them grow, make better choices in the world and flourish. We missed those who couldn’t make it that day and I hope I get to see them in the next trip.
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