Don’t Tell Aunty

Dearest aunty, we are fascinated by your stories of tradition but we live by our own hearts’ beat. What happens at this table, on this day, will surprise us all, because we move forward taking new steps. Dearest aunty, our table is set differently than yours.

In India, a neighbour walks into a home. Chai and snacks are immediately served. They simply cannot be denied. The guest sits, stories are told, children listen, questions are asked, gossip is spread… The life of that cup of chai continues for days and miles.

Jessi and Raj, two men born in India, defied their motherland’s deeply entrenched conditioning around the kitchen, food and serving. Although they were both “told” by their culture that the kitchen was a place for women and that they, as men, were to be cooked for and served to, they could not be kept away. They were fascinated by and drawn to the divine significance of food, beverage and the act of serving others. Serving others, is a gesture India holds sacred.