I am super excited to introduce you to my friend and host (who takes care of me like a mother), Indu! Indu really is a superwoman, maintaining the household while raising little Diya (“dee-ya”) and still managing to find a moment of time for herself.
Indu’s full name (Indu Ravichandran) is unusual for a married woman in India. “I just have my father’s name,” Indu explained. “I didn’t change my [last name] when I was married.” Because of this, Indu and her husband “need a separate certificate that says we are married” for times “like when we traveled to Singapore” because marriage certificates list the woman with the husband’s last name. Indu said that this is one tradition that is “changing little by little.”
“I’m from Chennai,” Indu replied, explaining “I got married and settled in my in-laws house in Vellore.”
“My family here is a joint family. We have seven members and one little cutie,” she said, pointing to Diya. “We have my husband’s parents, my husband, me, the aunts, our little sister, Diya… everyone is here.” Indu explained that “in a joint family, we have everything together and connected.” Indu emphasized, “When I got married, I wanted a joint family. I didn’t just want four walls.”
