Re-living my childhood….

We sit for dinner… as usual Swapna makes Ria sit besides her n like a doting mother tries to feed her dinner… then starts the cribbing… “mom I don’t want any vegetables…. Only daal rice… n whts tht green coloured thing in tht rice… have u mixed any veggies in tht??.... eeks whts tht black looking kachra in tht… remove it remove it!!!!.... please strain n remove all the ‘kachra’ frm the kadi n thn give it to me…” I look at Ria n give her a stern look… “Ria… be a good girl n finish it off”…. N off she goes wailing to the top of her voice… Swapna becomes irritated… scolds her n amongst all tht rona dhona Ria finishes her dinner…. I be a silent spectator… my mind wanders to some 25 yrs ago…. I see myself sitting with my mom doing exactly the same thing tht Ria is doing now…. Like father like daughter… I realize I have probably transmitted the gene to her… I wonder which gene is responsible for hatred of veggies n ‘kachra’ (jeera, coriander, mohri) in food… I wish Ria hadn’t picked up tht ‘I hate veggies’ gene from me…. But at the same time a smile runs across my face expressing the emotions tht Ria is a part of me n I get to relive my childhood through her….