Shalini Jasti

Excerpts from We The Interwoven

Shalini Jasti was born in Chirala, India, but was brought to the United States by her parents when she was only six months old. Raised to understand the many cultures of India while in the United States has led her to seek out her bicultural identity as she hopes to be equally Indian and American. With the goal of becoming an educator, Shalini hopes that her piece about her relationship with her mother and literature will open a door for authors of South Asian heritage to feel confident claiming their identity as writers.

“My parents were both born and raised in Andhra Pradesh, India. They grew up to the sound of monsoons soaking the rice fields and covering the land with a gentle sheen of growth, perpetuating the optimistic and reliable idea that the land would be reborn at the start of every new season and they too would continue to live their comfortable lives. While they did not live in luxury, they spent much of their time cultivating a rich childhood of outdoor games and primary school antics.

 Growing up, I am enthralled by my father’s stories of reckless motorcycle rides down the steep dirt hills of his hometown in Chirala, barely missing the tired mothers balancing metal water bowls on their heads, traveling up the hill from the river to their families, shrieking at the reckless Indian boy. This same boy is now subsumed within a tired old man, staring back at me with shining eyes and wrinkles. 

I am enthralled by my mother’s stories of nights with her own mother, both of them donning emerald saris and heavy gold jewelry, laughing at their self-indulgence. This same girl has now been consumed by a woman who does not take the time to care for herself, constantly in a state of panic at the well-being of her family. As she looks at me and retells her stories, her eyes are filled with nostalgia. I know there is more to my parents than the adults I see now, the ones I perceive to be overbearing and restricting, who mourn my loss every day as they see me stray further and further from the conservative and scientific Indian woman they want me to be. I am becoming an artistic and outspoken word-smith, independent, going to temple less, unafraid to speak openly about my passions and beliefs. I do not want to stay hidden.”