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Ritesh was jubilant, as his wife Pooja after six months of separation had finally joined him in the U.S. Immediately after a week of their marriage he had to come here and his wife was to join him later as she had her final exams to complete. Though theirs was an arranged marriage Ritesh was totally smitten by his beautiful and shy wife. So today when she was with him he could have no words to express himself. The only thing, which troubled him, was the amount of luggage his wife had come with that he had to pay for extra baggage. He was wondering what she must have been carrying.
He did not have to wait long, for Pooja had all the bags opened in a few hours of arrival. Ritesh was shocked to see what she had bought .In there was grocery or ingredient you name it she had bought it. Mirchi, haldi, rai, jeera, rava, atta, pickles, different types of masalas etc the list was endless. Pooja was very excited, Ritesh now you can eat good Indian food I am sure you must have been missing all these. Ritesh realized there was no point explaining to Pooja that you get everything out here there was no need to carry all these items from back home. So he decided to take her on an Indian tour of U.S.A.
Six months had passed since Pooja had stepped into US, in the past months all she seemed to have visited was Indian stores, Indian restaurants, Indian temples watched Indian movies, visited Indian jewelry stores etc. She had to take back her words that her husband was missing home food infect with the variety of Indian groceries got here with the combination of fresh vegetables and fruits you get here; you could make variety of good Indian food. As there were staying in Northern Virginia she had been to "ALL WORLD (Amma's) ", A1, Shivam, Indo Pak grocery store etc. Restaurants like, Arti, Minerva, Bombay Tandoor, Bombay bistro, Haandi, and many more good places to eat which catered to North and South Indian food right from Idly, Dosa, Puri, to Paneer, Roti, Nan, Tandoori food to fish, chicken, prawn, meat etc all types of food could be enjoyed. Infact on her visit to New Jersey she was taken aback by some roads which reminded her of the shopping complexes back home with Churidars, Indian dresses, saris, jewelery, Indian sweets being displayed in the shops, & eatables like Bhel Puri, Pani Puri, Paan also could be got here. She was wondering why Ritesh kept telling her not to worry about food, only she did not understand him completely and unnecessarily carried so much stuff.
Being a good cook she loved to buy her groceries from the American Giants and the Indian Grocery store and dished out quite a few delicacies . She loved the frozen section that provided vegetables so neatly cut and packed which saved so much time and energy and the best were the different types of rotis which were good to eat and easy to make. The items available to eat were just too good and to many to re-account. Ritesh without saying in words had made her realize that today the U.S. market to a great extent caters to the Indian needs, Indian sentiments with the innumerable Indian shopping centers, Indian temples, Indian hotels, any Indian could easily adjust without missing out on much.
Thus when Pooja wrote to her mother she only had to say... Dear Mom, Don't worry about me as now I have come to a land which makes me feel as if it is, INDIA IN USA. We get everything out here except Mummy & Daddy's love...
More articles by Payal Dronamraju
- "INDIA IN USA"
- "Home across the shores"
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