Patel’s pieces are inspired by an interview conducted with her grandmother (“Baa”), a home practitioner of Ayurveda. The quotes shown are English translations of Gujarati, which is her Baa’s predominant language.

 

“Even with my age, I don’t have any health problems. I take care of my health by myself.

I do not drink the American medicine even after staying in America for 30 years.”

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aching heart fueled by humility, it beats

alone in this strange world

staring at children staring at screens and the parents waiting for them through their teens

recalling beloved third cousins

                                                                laughter the only audio in the village

America: a second life, a second dream

yet always foreignized from her legacy

as the years went by, the kitchen cabinet became the home of orange bottles differentiated by their unpronounceable names

pill bottles overflowed onto the countertop until her home for two

                                                                                                                                                           suddenly

                                                                                                                                         became for

                                                                                                                          one

        aching heart fueled by humility, it beats