Indian Aunt File

(She settles back, suddenly businesslike.)

So you want to be a painter? A poet? You want to love that boy from the other caste? You want to quit your safe bank job and open a dabba service? Don’t ask your parents first. Ask me. Because I will tell you the truth: The world will crush you if you let it. But you know what crushes faster? Regret. indian aunt

Let me tell you something, beta . I have survived three joint family weddings, one property dispute, and a pressure cooker explosion that took out the entire kitchen ceiling. You think your little “life crisis” scares me? (She settles back, suddenly businesslike

So when I ask you, “When will you get married?” – it is not because I want to trap you. It is because I know the world is hard, and a good partner is a shield. When I say, “Eat more, you are looking like a stick” – it is not about beauty. It is because I have seen girls faint in the office lift from not eating. And when I gossip about the Sharma girl who “ran away with her trainer” – I am not judging her. I am jealous . She had the guts I never did. You want to quit your safe bank job and open a dabba service

So. You think I don’t see. You think because I am Auntie – because I feed you samosa and ask about your marriage, your job, your weight – that I am just background noise. Hmmph.

(She points a finger, but it’s trembling.)