“In childhood, we yearn to be grown-ups. In old age, we yearn to be kids. It just seems that all would be wonderful if we didn’t have to celebrate our birthdays in chronological order.”
South Asian Parent turns one today, and I’d like to take Brault’s advice and celebrate not by the measure of time, but by the heart of the measure.
Although it’s only been a year since we ‘went live,’ we have been alive for many more.
Mira’s cross-cultural marriage would not have been accepted if not for her great grandmother, who married out of caste and set an example of tolerance. Rahul became a doctor despite his passion for theatre because he couldn’t disappoint his father, who was orphaned at five and struggled to support his family.
Every day we discover and share the stories of hundreds of people–some born decades ago, some whom are still to come. Everything in this magazine, in this South Asian collective we call home, is inescapably linked to something else.
We are connected to our past and our future, to strangers and to family, in the same way–a moment has infinite ripples beyond what we envision. So rather than limit what we see, let’s celebrate the gift of eternity.
The same Bhagavad Gita that once inspired a monk and now moves a teenager to stop smoking; the tales of Akbar and Birbal our grandfathers told our fathers, and we now tell our grandsons; and most of all the people who share their lives, their histories, and their dreams with us–these are the birthday gifts we treasure.
