“In Hindi,” Indu added, “they say ‘Namaste’ (nam-ah-stay).” When you greet someone here, “you have to fold your hands.” Indu added, “We fold hands to not transfer germs from the other person. It was done by the older generation and it is a more obliged greeting.”
Indu said that Diya “wants a pocket-sized chihuahua, but I don’t want a fish or parrot or any kind of pet.” As kids, Indu and her brother “had a dog we took from the schoolyard. He took it and put it in my school bag. It was maybe two days old and we did not tell our parents.” That puppy was a rescued “mongrel, a street dog, and lived for fifteen years.” After that, her last pet was a Great Dane. “After losing him we didn’t want to take any more dogs in his place.”
Internationally, Indu has traveled to Singapore and Malaysia. “In India, I have traveled to Ooty and Kodaikannal,” Indu began. She has visited many places across India, including Hyderabad, West Bengal and Kerala. Indu took many trips to a goddess’ temple in Kerala that, until this past week, was only open to women who were not of child-bearing age. When Indu visits Kerala, “I go for the temples. We have the mala (mah-lah) and only have vegetarian food, good habits and are very strict.” “I really want to take Diya,” Indu sighed, “once in her life she will go.”
“I have my degree in IT information,” but Indu explained, “I was with my family until I got married. I finished education at 23 or 24 and was married at 26 and then Diya was born when I was 28.”
Smiling, Indu added, “I always had a passion for learning cooking.
