What can I say about my Mama , he is the most genuine person I have seen thus far. He has that aura around him that attracts, influences and calms people. So I googled a little bit to find out what is Mama’s birthstone and does it tell anything about his personality. Expectedly his birthstone is Amethyst , a deep purple gemstone associated with royalty. It symbolizes deep love, happiness, humility, sincerity, wisdom and mental clarity. Mama like an Amethyst embodies deep compassion, love and peace the kind you need to soothe your mind, body and soul.

Mama has a perfect soulmate Mami. The deep colors of purple of Mamas genealogy are more luminous when Vijayalakshmi (Viju mami) stands by him. Her birthstone also coincidentally has shades of blue. To us she is the strength, determination, balance, creativity that easily blends Mamas purple hues and together they create an ocean like colossal backdrop for anyone who comes in their vicinity. When you visit their home it’s as if you have entered an oasis of love, acceptance, simplicity not too much, not too little just perfect like the Goldilocks and 3 bears children story’s virtuous message of “ just right”.

So when Mama asked if I would like to travel with him on a road trip for Harshal’s wedding reception…it was a resounding yes from me. Who would miss the opportunity to travel back in time to see if you could find any connections to the land Jalgaon where the Kasle siblings spent some of their childhood years.

It took me back to the reminiscences of growing up as a kid. Mamas multiple visits to Bopodi to take me to Queens Garden on weekends to my grandma’s place, his bringing us Dairy Milk chocolate. Even today Mama and Mami get us Amba barfi from Pradeep. Their sweetness permeates our life and sanctifies it.

Mama is extra special , he is the peaceful one from the Kasle family. So if I were to use a planetary system for my maternal family my mom is will power like the planet Mars. She has the drive and aggression. Bhai Mama represented practicality and expansion like the planet Saturn, Vasanti Mavshi was vigor and responsibilities like Jupiter , Pushpa Mavshi is humility, grace and emotions like Uranus , Nandu mama represents a path forward, transformation, journey , travel like Mercury. All of them emerging from Aba’s sun like power and vitality and Aaji’s moon like spiritual, emotional, cooling that bound everything together. Yes the Kasle’s are the shining stars within our family tree.

Mama and Mami’s universe are their 2 kids Ameya and Harshal who are equally, grounded, earnest, sincere just like their parents.

So this time when I got to travel with them , I quickly grabbed the opportunity.

The occasion was Mama’s son Harshal’s wedding reception near Jalgaon. So here we were traveling with their beautiful daughter in law. My mom was also traveling with me and we were also accompanied by Chitra Mami and Shirish Mama. We started around 8 am on Saturday. Our first stop was at a breakfast place where we had Misal Pav and pohe.

I was riding with Chitra Mami , Shirish Mama and mom in another car. There was not a single dull moment as Shirish Mama kept us entertained throughout our journey with his humor and anecdotes. Time flew by so fast and we were already stopping by for Lunch at a Gujrati Thali restaurant.

We reached Shendurni around 5 pm where we were welcomed by Devshri’s relatives with flowers, Chai and biscuits. After taking some rest dinner was served at the restaurant. It was tasty jalgoan food which included egg plant and other delicacies.

The next day was the wedding reception. There was a surprise for me and mom .. a beautician Monica allotted to us for our makeup. It was so nice of Devshri to think about us in her busy schedule. She is so lively and grounded that just looking at her makes you feel happy. She fills the room with her smile and grace. She is the sunshine in Harshal’s life.

What a fabulous event , seemed like the entire city was there for the wedding reception. It was a daunting task for the bride and bridegroom as they were continuously standing on the podium to greet the well wishers. A long day indeed for them because after the event they also had to visit Devshri’s house and the temples to seek the blessings of the holy shrine. For the rest of us we had a good reception lunch and headed back to our hotel to freshen up and rest. My mom took a nap while I sat in the front porch enjoying the charm of a new city. The dinner served was truly Khandeshi with shev bhaji and vangyacha bharit. Some of the dishes were so authentic. People were still pouring in to meet the newly wed couple as we were going to leave for Pune the next day.

We slept early as we had to start around 6.30 am the next morning. We lingered a while enjoying the beauty of that warm cozy hotel and took some lovely pictures before we started our journey back.

Chitra Mami and my mom had a special bond, they were assisting each other to overcome some of the fatigue that came with the journey but at the same time savoring jubilant enchanting moments of connectedness, relationships and humor. Our journey was like boondi sev desert sweet and salty side by side, some exhaustion but bountiful of new experiences and insights by meeting Devshri’s relatives and friends. I was especially struck by the simplicity and humility of her parents although they are such a renowned name in town. Infact the hospitality of all the Kashid’s out there was one of a kind, generous and warm, managing such an overturn of people without making anybody feel rushed. All the guests were respected, honored and well fed with amazing food.

Our last destination was a hotel where we dined together before heading home. Mama ordered a tall cake ice cream smoothie and only shared with me. Anybody can tell that I am his favorite niece 💃🏽😜

What a fascinating experience that will be remembered for many years. As we get older I think it’s good to document our culture , our history and explore a little about where we come from and where we are heading. Who would ever think Harshal and Devshri , childhood St Ursula school buddies would turn out to be soulmates later in their lives. As Einstein said “God does not play dice”, so I often wonder how do things come to a full circle , how seemingly unknown people get connected, how generations develop into new offsprings. I may be just scraping the surface but family origins, history of our forefathers, good deeds of our parents, our identity, ancestry keeps forming those ripples in water which become larger and larger to connect us to the ocean. It’s seldom the destination it’s always the journey.

If you know me I like analogies. My Mama was the steering cheering us , taking us to our destination, Devshri the wheels our younger generation giving the car the momentum, Shirish Mama was our all time favorite radio FM keeping us entertained and informed , Chitra Mami with her teacherly discipline our speed making sure journey was smooth and timely, Mom represented the mirrors, time traveling looking back , looking ahead, Mami the engine that bears the load , the energy and the life force , Harshal the fuel maintaining the equilibrium between the new and old. I was the passenger in this well churned car of ours who was greatly honored to be part of an outstanding road trip.