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Indian woman in Canada explains why she doesn't miss India: 'I was never homesick for whole country’
The woman shared why she doesn't miss India as a country, but misses her home and family.
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An Indian woman living in Canada shared why she doesn't miss India as a country, but misses her home and family. She said she realised she wasn't homesick for a whole country, but for "about six people and one room”.
Manya shared her thoughts in an Instagram video, where she spoke about missing simple moments with her parents, such as sitting in her mother's kitchen while she made parathas and hearing her father read the newspaper. "I do not miss India, and I know exactly how that sounds, but let me explain," she said in the video.
Manya said that she can recreate many familiar parts of life in Canada. "Main apni mummy ke jaise parathe bana sakti hoon. I have been to restaurants that actually serve good food, very close to how it was back home. I have celebrated Diwali with proper rituals, diyas, mithais, everything," she said. However, she added that none of these experiences felt like being back home.
"For years, I thought I was being too picky or I was too stuck up in nostalgia. But turns out, I was not doing it wrong at all. I was solving the wrong-size problem. Because I am not homesick for a country of one and a half billion people. I am homesick for six people and a specific room," Manya said.
She shared that she misses her mother's kitchen at 11 in the morning, when her mother makes parathas, and she sits waiting for them. She also misses the sound of her father turning the pages of his newspaper while listening to the news. "I miss that one jhula that everyone used to fight for," she said.
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Manya explained that this is how it works for everyone. "Researchers at Southampton have been studying nostalgia for 20 years, and when they looked at what people actually write when asked about nostalgic memories, the answers almost always had other people in it," she said.
She said that this made her realise that people may not always be missing a particular place itself. "Tum woh jagah ko nahi miss kar rahe hote, you are missing the feeling of being in a specific room with those specific people," she said.
Manya said that the realisation has also changed how she plans her visits to India. "The next time that I'm going back, I am not doing rounds of shopping and going to everybody's house. I am rather going to sit in that kitchen at 11 in the morning for as long as my mom will let me," she said.
Manya also clarified that her video was based on her personal experience and was not meant to compare India with Canada.
(Also Read: Indian woman moves to Mumbai after 10 years in US, recalls work culture: 'Overwork is everywhere')
Social media reactions
Several users shared their own experiences of living away from India.
One user wrote, "So very well put. The thought of being away from my parents even for a while made me emotional. The daily chaos is what makes it beautiful."
"When I go to India, I go for my family, my friends and my home..nothing else..not for eating out not for roaming around not for relatives not for travelling or getting treatments done..I just go India for my home, my parents. Everything else is available here, only my home isnt," commented another.
"Yes. I live in Sydney. This sounds exactly just how I feel !! I am not missing India, I miss parents, I miss home," wrote a third user.
However, another user said they also missed the atmosphere of India, apart from their family and home. "I can't really agree with this. I definitely miss my home and my people the most, but I miss the vibe too. I can celebrate Diwali here, do all the rituals and decorate my home, but it just can't beat the vibe I feel in India. I think that's what I miss the most - how everything around felt back there," the user wrote.
