I break just about every convention there is... So many people I know grit their teeth at their families' narrow mindedness; but I find it hilarious and endearing. Family's so important to me, I'd probably fit right into a Mafia movie. But they never cease to surprise me with their reactions and their adaptability.
Case A: A cousin drops out of med school. I'm fully pro-this, I don't see the point in wasting time and money on med school if you'd rather not be a doctor. Surprisingly, my family agrees... one mami even says 'This is going to be very common going forward. We just didn't have the option in our day.' This from a family that hoots when you get 98 on 100 and asks where 2 marks went!
Case B: I'm at another cousin's marriage and there's a cute-ish guy around... my aunt (who, btw, put her daughter in a girls school all her life) volunteers that he was asking where I was from, and offers to intro. Now, I realize I make A-jokes every half a second, but that had me truly scandalized! (Not least because he wasn't even from our caste... what's the use of instilling all this bigotism in me if they're not going to maintain it??)
Case C: I may honestly not think twice before wearing a sari with a halter if I can't find a blouse. But I did expect my family to have some qualms! There's a sixty-year old, looking at pictures of me in curtains, I kid you not, and nodding wisely, 'Idhu dhaan ma indha kaalathu fashion! Azhaga irukka ponnu.' This from a family where sleeveless is considered 'forward'!
... Maybe I should rephrase. The convention I'm breaking here is not just liking my family. Rather, it's being more conventionally orthodox than the whole lot of them combined!
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