I have the tendency to wander—nowhere quite so dangerously as in my mind. I can pretend a child’s cry is an intelligent monologue at the same speed I can interpret a hint of color in the sky as a rainbow.
From all the different pieces of my imagination are born the thoughts I use to reflect reality. Parenting is tricky business, and to navigate this complex world I have to rely on joining fragments of information into something cohesive, coherent, and comprehensive.
I don’t always succeed, but I’d like to think I make a good effort. Especially since most of the time I’m scrutinized under a very mistrusting South Asian microscope.
“What are your qualifications?”
I list them.
“Where have you worked?”
I hand over my CV.
“Do you have children?”
Uh oh…
“Are you married?”
I’m doomed.
So for all those who have made me undergo the desi walk of shame, I’d like to take this opportunity, on the day we bring you a new Web site, to start over.
Let me reintroduce myself.
I am not a parent. It means I have the time and energy to research, interview, write, edit, design, analyze, re-analyze, and run a successful magazine.
I am not married. I believe that for any change to occur, you have to start early. If we want to make a shift towards more open and honest communication between parent and child, it would do us well to think about how we’d parent long before we’re knee deep in parenting responsibilities.
I’ve worked—at magazines, newspapers, broadcast channels, special needs schools, nurseries, research centers and charities. Everywhere, it was the same passion that drove me.
I’ve studied—journalism, child psychology, family psychology, economics; at many levels of mastery. But I’ve learned the most from every single other experience of my life.
So as we start over with a fresh South Asian Parent, I hope we can begin anew again with our perspectives. To recognize that no task is black and white, no idea fully developed. We transform constantly, absorbing the world around us at dynamic speed, and spitting out brighter and better ideas.
For those less trustful of my philosophy, I leave a disclaimer:
“The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the unanimous view of all parts of my mind.”
