i have started and re-started this post so many times because i honestly don’t know how to put into words all the feelings i have for this incredible family. when i first arrived in bangalore in early september 2005, i had no idea how much they would all come to mean to me over the years.

being such a large family they absorbed me into the fold seamlessly, immediately inviting me along for birthday parties and housewarmings and nights out. when i wanted to get my nose pierced, super was dispatched to accompany me to commercial street to make sure i went to the right place. almost every weekend sneha invited me out with her friends. whenever i was in the mood for an afternoon snack shonali was right there by my side. if there was a wedding, a birthday, a christening, a family get-together of any kind, it was almost a given that i was invited, and i took none of it for granted.

for the most part homesickness wasn’t a problem, but every once in a while when i missed my mother i knew i could turn up at bern’s or sheilamma’s houses and they would pamper me a bit and feed me home-cooked food. when i wanted someone to go with me to my cousin’s wedding reception, nithya agreed to tag along. for three years amaidhi was my near-daily after work company, going for walks or to aerobics classes or watching movies together at the end of the day.

almost every memory i have, particularly from those 2005-2011 years, includes at least one member of the devaraj family. they made every birthday special. they picked me up when i was feeling down and they made fun of me when i needed it, just like family should.

and as we approach 20 years since i first met them, that love still runs deep.

xx