In America

 I am notorious for how little regard I give to birthday celebrations and the like... and yet.. My time of birth was almost here, and I was yet to get cake.  Divya was in a call with friends. I thought I will take the kids and get the cake. To my dismay, Kittu would not accompany me. Niya was not going to let me go alone, and we drove to the Cold Stone creamery for the third time this month. We had some quality time - I tried to liberate her from the daunting rat race that she is supposed to enter soon.  The hall was already decorated with the party decor that was done for Kittu's birthday. Why not? I covered the billiards table with the table tops, Achchan and Amma rearranged the balloons from Kittu's birthday that were lying on the floor. Amma told me to put on the jubba that Amma and Achchan had brought in from India this visit.   Cake cutting, family selfies, the works. My parents were here when Kittu was born. That was eleven years back. That was the last time t...

Curtains draw. Clouds overflowed from the stage into the audience. Dancers rose up from the clouds. Graceful performance. Disciplined claps across the haul.  The dance performances end with a still/tableu, and then there is a gong, and the lights dim bringing the focus on the artists and away from the props, and then the curtain is closed completely.  So I couldn't clap. Skilled, graceful, acrobatic. Dance drama performances. Live orchestra. Excellent mix of western and traditional chinese music. Perfect synchrony between the music and the dances. Music was flawless, and I perhaps enjoyed the music much more consistently than the dances.   Two MCs - a guy in suit, and a lady in chinese attire. I could only understand what the guy said.  One hour of multiple performances, a fifteen minute break, another hour of performances. Pretty good. Not as exhilarating as I had imagined from the large Shen Yun posters that I had been seeing ever since I have been in the US. ...