Rating: 4/5
Sweet story of inter-generational connection!!!!
"Kind of Hindu" is First one of the six-part Nothing Like I Imagined collection of autobiographical short comedy essays by Mindy Kaling available through Amazon Originals.
As the title states, Kind of Hindu, is an essay about religious identity and how people, especially those who identify as Third Culture Kids, incorporate beliefs and traditions from their home and host cultures; their life experience is one where they have partial belonging to multiple cultures without having full ownership in any. It's in this space that Mindy Kaling grapples with questions about her own religious identity and how that would have an impact on her daughter.
Being myself “Kind of Hindu”, I do relate to Mindy's questioning of her religious identity because my own faith journey went from following my parents' religious traditions, becoming less religious, identifying as an atheist/Agnostic for a period of time.
Mindy describes how revisiting her family's religious traditions after the birth of her daughter made her feel tethered to her family ties, especially her mom whose presence she deeply misses.
I also loved Mindy's descriptions of the Mundan ceremony (celebrates a baby's first haircut). She hit the nail on the head when describing how uncomfortable (scratchy and stiff) Indian clothes are and how no one has a clue what the priest is saying or the meaning behind rituals in the ceremony. While the Mundan ceremony had its' humorous moments, it takes an emotional turn when Mindy realizes what being "Kind of Hindu" means to her and her daughter.
Shi'tare
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