An Open Letter To A Very Dear American Cousin Sister

DISCLAIMER: All names have been changed for the sake of maintaining online privacy.

Dear Natalie, this is an open letter to you. By an open letter, I don’t mean letters written to celebrities/sportspersons/politicians etc. In fact, this is a letter through which I wish to share my thoughts and feelings about you and the experiences we have shared over the years. This will be quite long; hope you don’t mind. However, I am going to do my very best to make it as interesting as possible and I assure you that confidentiality will be maintained – which is why I have changed all the names – hope they are to your and your family’s liking! 😀

Natalie, you are a very dear cousin of mine and so is your brother Nathan. Your parents, Uncle Steve and Aunt Lisa; have forever treated me with the utmost care and affection. Your grandmother Katherine Chithi Patti too is almost like a grandma to me and I am sure your husband Anthony will in due course of time become a good friend of mine. We have had a lot of fun right from the time we were kids; you being quite close to my sister Sarah – thanks to you being older than her by barely 2 months!! I particularly remember us going for a boat ride in Bangalore sometime in 1999 and you speaking Tanglish “the boat is aadding” 😛 Right from then on, I knew you would always be fun to interact with!!

During my childhood and teenage days, we didn’t meet a lot but whenever we met, we had a lot of fun. You still had an Indian accent then; though Nathan already had a strong American accent. I don’t remember if u were there in Mumbai during my 16^th birthday; but it was truly “sweet sixteen” for me, mainly because ur parents made it an occasion that I will never forget in my life. By around 2011-12, you had developed a noticeable American drawl; which actually sounded quite sweet, especially with your voice 😉 . The accent grew stronger in 2013 when we met in Chennai during my first job; the way you pronounced “palli” was so cute and funny 😀 .

Whenever we have met my cousin Barty (technically uncle 😛 ) – the one who is from Mumbai and is currently working in Netherlands (earlier USA) – you and Sarah would always tease him with the words “Sundaraparipoorna”. I would dearly love to know what that means 😉 ; but I have realised that you are helping Sarah get back at Barty for teasing her in Kodaikanal, back in 1996 when she was not even a year old; comparing her with a mango and saying he would turn her into a frog – good work Natalie and thanks!! 😀 May you and Sarah keep getting into more and more hijinks!! 😛

Sarah, my parents and I really had the time of our lives when we came to Chicago in June 2014. You, Nathan and your parents made us feel completely at home and I felt this was the time when our bond started to grow stronger. You and Sarah were almost like tour guides for the rest of us and we had a wonderful time touring Chicago; especially the cruise on Lake Michigan and the Hancock Tower experience – not to mention the incredibly tasty deep-dish pizzas!! We even ribbed Nathan for his incorrect pronunciation of Chicago 😉 Also, I loved it that you appreciated my singing the Linkin Park song “Pushing Me Away” though I considered myself nearly a bathroom singer then!! In fact, I would say the Chicago leg was the best part of our US trip; mainly thanks to the unforgettable time we had with you and your family!! ❤

I will never forget your visit to Mumbai in June 2018. Every single day was memorable – our dinner cum drinks experience at Breeze Lounge, lunch at our favourite restaurant Red Olives (unfortunately it got shut down quite a few years ago  ) and of course the unique ticketed dinner at the Village, R-City Mall – where we even danced to some Bollywood numbers!!

The summer of 2019 was simply the best time we have ever had in our life. I am incredibly thankful that you got an internship in Dublin; without you Ireland would never have been the same, as I have already mentioned in latest poem about you!! Really Natalie, you were a perfect tour guide and your bubbly nature infected the entire group  !! So much fun did we have – be taking photos around the Liffey River, visiting a park nearby, standing on rocks and posing near the waterfalls, touring the scenic Wicklow Valley and admiring the beauty of the green mountains as well as the mesmerising charm of Glendalough Lake and of course the best of all – the absolutely breathtaking (and downright scary I must add!!) Cliffs of Moher – where some parts of “Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince” were shot!!

The Ireland trip was PURE GOLD; hence it deserves a second paragraph for sure!! The food too was awesome, especially the Mexican food we had on the very first day at “Boojam”; though there was that awkward moment at a Thai restaurant where I had Prawn Crackers (which I mistook to be some kind of chips!!) by mistake!! I also can’t forget the very friendly vegetarian waitress at a café in the Wicklow Valley who ensured we had the best items available!! Of course, I am sure NO ONE can EVER forget the time we had at Temple Bar – not only was the beer NEXT LEVEL, poor Katherine Chithi Patti got a bit of a shock as she had never seen girls drinking before!! To cap it all, Uncle Steve came up with his fabulous word association game on our last night in Ireland; which ensured this leg of our UK tour ended the way it began – on the most exciting note possible!!

Natalie, you were badly missed on our tour of England – especially the Thames River Cruise, the India vs Bangladesh Cricket World Cup match at Birmingham and of course THE BEST OF ALL – the Wimbledon camping experience!! However, the sheer enthusiasm of Nathan more than made up for your absence!! Then came COVID19 and hence we couldn’t meet for quite a while. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear about your engagement to Anthony in Dec 2022. The pre-wedding party in Feb 2024 was absolutely amazing – I could clearly see that you and Anthony were made for each other; Anthony’s parents were also warm and friendly and I totally enjoyed asking Anthony questions about the two of you; especially the moment where he decided you were the one for him 😀 !!

The night we had at Rude Lounge post the party was equally memorable; it was very sweet of you to spend the night with us when you could instead have gone on a date with Anthony or just spent time with him and his family – this is one of the reasons why I value you so much as a cousin ❤ . The day you all left, we had a good time visiting your Dad’s Heritage flat; I am touched that you and your family enjoyed my company. I was also happy to get some insights from you regarding the medical world; including the patriarchy that unfortunately exists even at a global level. It was a kind of emotional farewell; because I don’t know when are we going to meet next.

I am truly sorry we couldn’t attend your wedding, because our 10-year-old US Visa expired just 4-5 months before the marriage. However, I am glad that it turned out to be such a grand affair; you were like a princess and I have never seen your Mom looking younger!! May you and Anthony have an exciting, adventurous and on the whole beautiful married life; may you be there for each other on your brightest as well as darkest days and nights!! I want my sister to be happy always and I am sure Anthony will ensure that!!

I am glad you appreciate my poems; even the ones about people other than you. Your feedback about my talent keeps me motivated to write more and more poems. It’s also great to finally connect with you and your Mom on Whatsapp; though I want to connect with Nathan too – seems the present no: I have of his is no longer on Whatsapp ;( . I really hope your wish of we all (including Sarah and my parents) having a grand vacation comes true – and as we discussed, Australia seems to be the ideal place!! Well, even otherwise I am glad to stay in touch with you and your family through Whatsapp. You are one of my coolest as well as sweetest cousins and I want to tell you that if you ever feel anything negative; you can reach out to me anytime, I am always there to listen, understand and empathise – though of course we will have to keep the time differences in mind 😛 !! On this note, let me end this super long open letter – hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing!!