When I first saw this picture, my initial thought was, “Wow. It looks just like Rishi.” Rishi is my baby brother. Well, not so much a baby anymore but that is a story for another time. The next thought in my mind was not just one thought but a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. The young man on the left is my father, Biswa Prosad Nath. The picture is from December of 1963 and Baba was just 17 years old. Oh my gosh. He was just 17 and he left home in Kolkata to do his undergrad in Missouri. He came alone with only a suitcase, a few dollars in his pocket, his ambition and hope to make his family proud. He came to form his own roots and maybe someday have a family of his own. At least, that is what I think when I think of this incredible journey he made.
Seeing this picture makes me feel grateful. Baba had struggles adjusting to life in the States. He told me about working at the university library. He worked nights. “Inni, when the phone rang, I would start to sweat,” he told me. “The phone calls were the worst. I couldn’t understand them. They couldn’t understand me.” Just to think that answering someone’s question of whether or not a book was available was something hard to do. I am grateful that he made it through that experience. I am proud that he didn’t give up because it was hard. After college, my father continued to build his life in the United Sates. He spent some time in Tempe, Arizona but has lived and worked the majority of his life in Chicago and Chicagoland suburbs.
I got my passion for food and entertaining (and I guess I should mention, a plethora of lectures and life lessons) from my father. Growing up, we spent a lot of time in the kitchen and hosting afternoon tea time and weekend parties. What is interesting is that cheese was a new food for Baba when he first came to the U.S. And his first experience with it was not a pleasant one. “Oh this is awful. How do people eat this? People like this?” Well, since then his palette developed and we enjoy all sorts of cheeses. Which I am also grateful for. I mean, who doesn’t love cheese? Baba does now. Yes, my father has had quite a life journey. He was a seedling from India that was planted in the States and because of this, my sisters, brother and I now have roots here. It’s pretty amazing.
