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Grandparents at granddaughter's wedding

Thousands of Miles Apart But Always Connected

written by Parita 18 Comments

Even after five years of blogging, something you may not know about me is that I’m very close to my maternal grandparents.  Like BFF close.  In fact, I’m pretty sure at the age of six I proudly declared that my grandmother was my best friend.

Grandparents at granddaughter's wedding

The connection that I (and to be fair my sister and cousins as well) have with my grandparents is a little strange because we didn’t grow up with them living right around the corner.  When we went to grandma’s house, we had to board a plane and fly to the other side of the world.

I still remember the excitement that filled my heart when our car dropped us off in front of their home.  My grandparents would be waiting for us at the top of the stairs with huge smiles on their faces.  We would spend the next few weeks eating delicious homemade meals, practicing our English skills (them not me!) by trying to say ridiculous words like refrigerator and spaghetti, and creating a lifetime of memories.  Most of my favorite childhood moments include my ba and dada (grandmother and grandfather) in some shape or form.

Something else I’ll never forget is the look of pride on their faces when I got married.  They were seated in the front row, and I remember catching my grandmother’s eye and smiling at her.  She smiled back with tears in her eyes.  Then when it was time for my vidai (farewell), we all cried a lot.  But it was my grandfather who did so the most.  I’m pretty sure his sadness that day was felt by every guest.

Grandmother blessing granddaughter at wedding

Grandfather crying at granddaughter's vidai

Despite the thousands of miles between us, the bond we share is still extremely strong.  This may be because I was their first grandchild or because we visited India semi-frequently growing up and vice versa with them coming to the US or because I speak to them on the phone once a week.  Thankfully, they still have their trusty landline connected and ready for our catch-up calls where we talk about work, life, and anything exciting happening in the gam (village)!

And that’s where XFINITY® Voice Unlimited comes in handy.  It makes it easy for people to stay in touch with their landline using grandparents from anywhere, on-the-go using the XFINITY Connect app.  In this day and age, where convenience is key, it’s great that this plan is available and simple to use.  But more than anything, it enables grandchildren like me to close the gap (so to speak) with the special people in their lives who may not be around the corner or just up the road.

If you want to learn more and test the product for yourself, be sure to visit one of the two activation centers.  The locations and dates include Bharat Bazar in Fremont, CA from 2/29-3/3 and Great Mall in Milpitas, CA from 3/4-3/6.  Both centers will be open from 5 pm – 8 pm.

This post is part of a sponsored campaign on behalf of the South Asian Bloggers Network for Comcast XFINITY. I have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Written on February 22, 2016 Related:Family, Life

Pink by Ruchi

written by Parita 5 Comments

First and foremost, thank you all so much for the residency match/move love!  We’re excited about all the upcoming changes, and I look forward to sharing more as we go.

So today I have a slightly different kind of post lined up for you.  Today I want to share more about my friend Ruchi and her business.  Her story is a pretty incredible one, and I volunteered to help her share it via my blog.

Ruchi and I met in 2007 through her then boyfriend/now husband who is a friend of mine and quickly became friends ourselves.  I love her spunky personality and fun loving nature. 

RuchPar

Then in 2010 she got married and made a permanent move to India.  We all wondered how she would adjust to living in a familiar but very different country so far from her family and friends.  But guess what…she adjusted just fine.  Actually, better than fine.  Ruchi really embraced her new life – she learned how to drive, she learned how to speak Hindi, and she started her own business – Pink by Ruchi!

pink by ruchi 2

In her own words, Pink by Ruchi is…

Custom. Design. Garments. Pink by Ruchi is the answer to all of your fashion dilemmas. We bring you fresh and unique pieces created to fit your style and needs. The company is one of the first of its kind; producing each product in India while servicing clientele in America and Europe. We specialize in traditional Indian wear, fusion (Indo-Western) and Western, so whether it’s a cocktail dress you desire or an intricate bridal lengha, our team can make it happen.

I can personally attest to the quality of Ruchi’s clothing and design and also to the care she takes in assuring each and every client is satisfied with their purchase.  I bought a super cute dress from her when she was in Atlanta for a trunk show and absolutely loved picking the fabric and talking through the final look.  Made me feel fancy!  But more than anything else, I know how much passion and creativity Ruchi brings to her business.  She really understands the desire to look good and feel confident and aims to bring just that to her clients.

And the best part is that she works with clients in India, the US, and Europe.  Your location almost doesn’t matter! 

If you’re wondering how this whole design-your-own-clothing thing works, I highly recommend checking out her site and booking a free consultation.

If you’re interested in following along as she designs and shares her beautiful clothing, check out the Pink by Ruchi Facebook page and Instagram account.

And finally, this isn’t the last you’ll be seeing of Ruchi!  She’s going to guest blog on MIS occasionally and share more about her business and other fun fashion stuff.  Because let’s be honest, I need all the advice I can get!

Do you consider yourself a fashionista?  Have you ever designed your own clothing?

Written on March 25, 2015 Related:Fashion, Friends

India 2013

written by Parita 13 Comments

It’s hard to believe that we spent two weeks on the other side of the world and are already back in Miami.  A little surreal.  Our time in India was more fun than expected and very special.

On the plane ride back, I thought about how I wanted to share our experiences and came up with a fun way (at least I think it is!) to cover almost everything.  I apologize in advance for the length of this post…lots to talk about!

TRAVEL

  • We flew from Miami to London and then London to Mumbai – total travel + layover time was 22 hours.  Once we reached Mumbai, we had to wait for a domestic flight to Vadodara, where my dad was waiting to pick us up – total travel + layover time was 7 hours.  Our return flights were about the same time wise.  Talk about exhaustion!
  • Our main forms of transportation in India were cars/vans and rickshaws.  Rickshaws are essentially tiny taxis.  I’m not going to lie, riding in one can be a scary experience!

India 2013 218

  • The roads in India have improved significantly since I last visited 10 years ago.  However, the heavy rain and flooding has caused a lot of damage to major roadways, making for very bumpy rides.
  • Speaking of roads, I don’t think I could ever drive in India. The traffic can be insane.  But more than that, the roads are shared by cars, rickshaws, trucks, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, and various animals.  I like to call it organized chaos!

FAMILY

  • Our trip started with 3ish days in Gujarat.  My grandparents live in a town called Karamsad (where my mom grew up), which is where we spent the majority of our time.  We also made day trips to Vadodara (where my dad grew up) and Nadiad to visit family.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m very close to my grandparents and was so happy that we were able to fit in a few days with them.  Short but sweet!

India 2013 217

  • From Gujarat, we took a flight to Bangalore and then drove six hours to Coorg.  Coorg is where Vishnu’s mom grew up and where some of her family still lives.  And it’s also one of the most beautiful places we visited – lots of lush land that is used for harvesting coffee and pepper plants.  In fact, Vishnu’s uncles own coffee estates, so I was able to see everything up close.

India 2013 075

  • The rest of our trip was spent in Kerala, more specifically in Palakkad where Vishnu’s dad grew up.  Because we were visiting, all of Vishnu’s aunts and a few of his cousins stayed with us at Vishnu’s uncles house.  They were all so excited to have us there and took great care to make sure we were comfortable at all times.

India 2013 156

  • I am so grateful that we were able to visit and spend time with our families.  Even though the travel was a bit tiring, this was by far my favorite part of the trip.  It was so hard to leave everyone behind!

FOOD

  • During our time in Gujarat, we tried two different restaurants – Barbecue Grill in Vadodara and 24 Seven at the Madhubhan Resort in Anand.  Both offered delicious buffet options along with unique appetizers.  During our time in South India, we ate at a lot of restaurants specializing in dosas.  I am officially masala dosa”ed” out. 

India 2013 209

  • Eating out wasn’t really a priority but trying new foods was absolutely one.  I tried jack fruit, tiny bananas, fresh coconut water, and various Kerala specialties for the first time and loved them all, especially the bananas!

SICKNESS

  • A trip to India is not complete without someone getting sick.  Never fails.  Fortunately, this trip was different.  Aside from a day of upset stomachs (I think it was the jack fruit) and a couple of dizzy spells, we were all fine.  However, I caught a cold on our way home and am now battling a stuffy nose.

SHOPPING

  • Two weeks before we left for India, I spent a lot of free time looking for appropriate tops (i.e., conservative) to wear.  I ended up only wearing two of the blouses I bought because both my mom and MIL thought it was better for me to buy traditional kurtis in India and wear those instead, especially when visiting family.  The next time we visit India, I will be more than ready in the clothing department!
  • Even though we were only in Gujarat for a few days, my mom and I did some major damage in the sari department.  Lots of new and pretty things to wear to all of the weddings we have coming up!

BUGS AND HEAT

  • As you all know, I was expecting the worst when it came to both bugs and heat.  The absolute worst.  Luckily, the heat didn’t bother us at all (living in Miami is good preparation for visiting India!).  And the bugs…well, I did the best I could.  Vishnu said that I dealt with all the creepy crawlies better than he thought I would.  I tried my best to keep the screaming and jumping to a minimum.  Ha!

THE REASON WE WENT

  • I don’t think I’ve mentioned the reason behind our trip to India on the blog before.  It’s kind of a long story, but essentially our two week adventure was for a day long pooja (religious prayer service) in Vishnu’s name at the Guruvayur Temple in Kerala.  Along with my parents and Vishnu’s parents and brother, we were joined by 25 other family members.  It was a really special day for so many people, especially Vishnu’s parents who have been waiting 28 years for this particular pooja.  Every aspect of the almost 24 hour pooja was beautiful!

India 2013 253

MISCELLANEOUS

  • The sock bun saved my life because keeping my hair down wasn’t an option (too much humidity!).
  • Looking back, we should’ve made more of an effort to drink more water.  On any given day, we probably drank 3-4 glasses of water total – a really stupid move on our part.
  • Our lack of movement drove me crazy.  I have never been so sick of sitting in my life!

Overall, we had an amazing two weeks – couldn’t have asked for a better experience!  And believe it or not, we’re already thinking about our next visit!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Written on August 26, 2013 Related:Family, Indian culture, Travel

Off to India We Go!

written by Parita 7 Comments

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd….we’re off! 

In t-minus 3 hours, Vishnu and I will be headed to India!  We’ll be back in two weeks…hopefully with lots of fun stories and experiences to share!

P.S. I plan to post pictures on Instagram and maybe even share updates on the myinnershakti Facebook page throughout our trip.  Feel free follow along!

Written on August 9, 2013 Related:Travel

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