A long stressful day at work.

Finshed up the day by going to watch a play at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith - just yards away from our office. The play: a comedy called When Amar Met Jay - and what an entertaining show it was! It was hilarious - although I must admit I’m getting a bit tired of the “arranged marriage” theme which is all to often the centre of the plot to stories like this. Not because I don’t disagree with the message - but because it is just one (albiet significant) aspect of the many that contribute to the “identity mix-up” that Second Generation Indians like me have had to tortuously endure throughout our lives to-date.

Later - randomly following Google-generated links around the web - I found a particularly poignant reflection of the sorts of real personal crises that second-gen Asians endure during their formative years - and although the account is of Asians growing up in the USA, there are in my view extremely vivid parallels to the experiences of second-gen Asians who grew up during the 70s, 80s in the UK.

Despite the laughs and rapturous applause during and at the end of the show - I can’t help but wonder deep down inside how my own relationship with my kids will take shape as they grow from the blissful, innocent ages that they are now - to the free spirits that they will become in their teenage years and beyond.

“If it’s a mirror you want, just look into my eyes
Or a whipping boy, someone to despise
Or a prisoner in the dark
Tied up in chains you just can’t see
Or a beast in a gilded cage
That’s all some people ever want to be“
From “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free” by Sting