great expectations

South Asian families are often brought up of a diet rice or chapattis (and other worldy foods, I'm not being stereotypical. just bear with.) We're also served up daily if not hourly with doses of the merits of hard work. Ever since I was young my parents would bleat on about how my brother's favourite song growing up was "Papa Kehte hain" this roughly translates to "What my Dad says".

Predating the wonderful "Shit my dad says" twitter feed, this Bollywood teen song was not about rebellion. Oh no. this was about one son's desire to make his father's dreams come true.

 Practically brainwashed. So with it came the hours of homework, reading and writing, and in my case lamenting that I wasn't very good at sports. But unfortunately my parents were left surprised that after all their focus on academics that not a single one of us became a doctor. And thank Allah they were placated later when my sister got her PhD. But with their ambition came a shred of hypocrisy. After travelling across the world and setting up home away from their family and friends we've often been guilt tripped to stay local otherwise we might end up like the kids out of Baghban. (A Bollywood film in which the kids fail to look after their parents in the autumn of their life. there's even a sad song in a phone box)

 

This didn't deter me though. Good on those kids I thought. I'm no Gordon Gekko but ambition is a good thing. And before I knew it I was shipped off to London in a horse and cart with promises of a great education and ticket to mix with the upper echelons of society. No...Wait that is the plot to Great Expectations.

It's been three years since I've graduated and moved back home. The status quo can often remain the same for months than in a flash everything changes and you can find yourself looking at your parents a little bit in awe. Not just for an amazing knack for money management (which I'm still waiting to inherit) but for their way they did set up life a world away from everything they knew. Of course they'll probably ruin the moment when they tell you to wear socks with your loafers because it's cold out. These days we've forged our own path and even though I joke about it I can't help but feel that we've taken that work ethic we were brought up on with us and hopefully apply it to becoming a reality TV brand.

I'm kidding.

 theguyinthebowtie.