Indian Americans on high alert for news from families about Covid. And then our call came
Never had we imagined moving to the US would include a desperate son watching his PPE-clad mother and sister lighting the pyre of his father back in India.
Mishi Choudhary 15 May, 2021 10:38 am IST
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A month of firsts.
Attending a cremation on a WhatsApp video call was not a use of the chat service I had ever imagined. I was used to examining technology for its policy, legal and economic aspects, not to mourn someone’s death.
A move to the United States had meant several things for us, but never had we thought it would include a desperate son watching his PPE-covered mother and sister lighting the pyre of his father back in India. Zoom fatigue of 2020 had been real, but sitting through a havan, a fire ritual, performed 7,000 miles away to pay respects to the soul of my husband’s father taught me about a new use of the ubiquitous app.