No One Can Ever Be Better At Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss Than Brown/desi Mothers

no one can ever be better at gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss than brown/desi mothers

Did you ever wake up really early in the morning after Diwali, when the lights are still up & the birds are talking in music, the street dogs are asleep, the leaves are dancing slowly to the wind, the world is calm, nobody is on the streets but the alleys speak of presence of happiness and light, it's cold, but also warm.... you can feel the smiles,laughter and sweets in the air. There are less crackers on the road this year and most of the wrappers say "green" and this makes you smile, that little kid who lives on the corner most house cares about the world and that is so beautiful...You look at the rangoli that the little kids made, it's smudged but it still carries the stories of yesterday, looking at it you recall the chaos that went into making it, "Atta khaañ hai? mai sirf colours vali layi huñ, or tu? stencils? chal didi se aata lekr aatey haiñ? Ye vala design ??", you chuckle...a strong wind blows & it makes you wear your shawl properly, you rub your hands together with a warm smile on your face.... mcd vali didi has come to clean the roads, you exchange wishes, and head to the kitchen to make some tea.....

it's the morning after Diwali, vanvaas ended.

-Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

someone asking if your doing okay and you playing cool say "of course yes" and then they look you in the eye and tell you to look in their eye and ask "are you really doing okay?" and you feel the wall you built so high and thought was very strong crumble down like a house of cards but you still try to play it cool and say "yeahhhhhhh oh my god yes I'm okay." and they still don't believe you

how to win in this situation?

-Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

when it's diwali week and you are talking a walk down your street at night and there's barely any moonlight but it doesn't matter because every house is lit up with these twinkling fairy lights and multicolored bulbs and candles and it's bright and happy and there's this sweet aroma in the air and you can hear children screaming with joy as they light those stupid little fooljhadis that they are clearly scared of and the adults are sitting in groups playing cards or just talking and there's a sense of togetherness in the air itself and you are just so grateful. <3