Second and Third Visit

Second visit: Mom's village

Here, we met friendly, young families here, who were mostly visiting from abroad. The courtyard contained a tree which bloomed gorgeous magenta flowers. Our hosts served a delicious yellow burfi with tea, while we viewed
about two-hundred baby photos. One young woman got engaged, and so we were also entertained by photos of well-dressed, solemn fiancees, playing the roles passed down by their parents and other elders.

Third visit: Patiala:

I behaved so quietly and calmly for all of these drives to these places that if we had invited another family member to accompany us, and that person was getting to know me for the first time, sitting beside me in the car as we asked about 55 people how to reach a certain place, and driving over piles of rocks in the roads, they would never have guessed that some people describe my temperament as that of a ticking time bomb of fury who gets easily frustrated and anxious over the smallest things. I wore my sunglasses and wrapped my indigo chiffon choonee around
my head to darken my visual world, and to dull the sharp, quick flashes of lights and shadows as the car sped by the tall roadside trees and slower vehicles. Sometimes I would doze, other times my mind just hummed in gentle words and pictures. Any inquiries sent my way were answered with a soft murmur.

We met Mom's oldest, and only surviving sister, her relationship to Navjot and I is: Massaji (mother's sister). She lives with her son, his wife, and their son. The family business is dairy farming. The buffalo live in a living space underneath the house, on the ground floor. This visit showed me the depth of compassion and love Mom's family has for one another, through the care they give to Massaji. Massaji somehow perceived that I was older than Navjot, but she gave no explanation for her knowing. She also wondered why my hair wasn't dark.