When You have a Hindu Dad and a Muslim Mom

On my previous post, I mentioned that I was born in a Hindu family. Well, my father's side is Hindu and my mother happened to be Muslim. Now, this makes most people imagine a beautiful sign of national integration, a utopia where people, despite following different religions, lives in harmony. When my friends hear about my parents, they find it quite amazing, but little do they know the struggles that I have to face.

Courtesy: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/sites/default/files/styles/publication_main/public/CFCA10.jpg?itok=uPdYZ00-

I am an introvert and I hate people buzzing around me. But my biggest fear is when relatives visit us. As a child, I didn't know that there were different ways of greeting people in different religion. Many a time I would end up giving a blank star to the person who would say, "As-Salaam-Alaikum "; and in my head, I would be like, " What do I say? What do I say? " And the end result would be me staring blankly at the person. My sister was smart for that matter. She was the one who taught me how to greet our relatives from both the sides.

I have to think a hundred times before uttering a word when we visit our relatives. What would happen if I end up saying "Allah" in front of a Hindu relative or saying " He Ram " in front of a Muslim relative? Once I ended up doing exactly that. I don't remember what the conversation was about, but " he Ram " slipped out of my mouth right in front of my mother's uncle. Imagine the horror that I was in when I realized what I had said. He calmly told me to say " Ya Allah ". And I smiled at him wishing if only I could put him in my place and see how he does. I even made it a point not to be the one to greet first. I would let my relative greet and then I would greet. But most of the times I would end up scratching my head, trying to remember what I was supposed to say. And not to mention the confusion that I have when all our relative sits down to pray. Am I supposed to pray with hands open or should I join my hand? Many a time I would be in the wrong prayer pose and some women in corner of the room would be starring at me with a confusing expression that I could never guess.

Then there's confusion with food. My father side of the family happens to be " Assamese Tribal Hindu "; and they consume pork. So anyone can imagine my horror or I should say terror when food is served.

Even the prayer room at home is different and confusing to visitors. There's a small statue of Lord Krishna and Goddess Saraswati, a small bowl brought from Mecca and the Bible beside it. And it's not just the temple. Even I was made to wear a Lord Hanuman's locket, and a " tabiz " especially brought from Jama Masjid. During my engineering course, I took off all those trinkets and locked them away.

Besides all these confusion, there are many good points in my life. We get " the best of both worlds". I have been to Jama Masjid with my mom; I have been to many well-known temples too. I have acquired a good knowledge of both their religions.

Moreover, isn't it nice to have a little family which could be a good example that shows how love surpasses every man-made boundary when there is so much violence and hatred in the name of religion, there exists families like mine.

If you have any special memories of your family or if your family is like mine, do share your experience in the comment section below.