Me Irvinekar

Life can be enriched by conversations with strangers as I found on a trip to Canada in October 2018 (about a year ago). These thoughts are from that journey and it helped me answer the question where I belong…

A few days back as fall eased in, I crossed the border into friendly territory for a business trip. I had managed to pack light with just one carry-on and a computer bag, even as I mentally prepared for a 20 degree drop in temperature, going from the warm 70s of sunny Southern California to the cool, crisp 50s of stunning Vancouver. Thankfully the time zone remained the same. Canadian hospitality in the form of my chatty Bangladeshi cab driver made the 30 minute drive to the hotel interesting in spite of the grey clouds and wet roads.

The two day leadership workshop was inspiring and thought-provoking. It was a great start to the week with new insights, new connections, and new learning to take back to the team. By Wednesday the clouds had cleared, the sun was shining and the view from the Vancouver Convention Center was simply breathtaking! Multiple camera-phones tried to capture the grandeur of the sparkling blue harbor and the majestic mountains around. As we waited for the speaker in one of the large meeting rooms, I introduced myself to the attendee sitting by me. Names exchanged and the question popped up, “What is your nationality?” I paused very briefly and then factually responded, “I am a US citizen, originally from India.” The conversation flowed getting to know each other’s professional backgrounds and finding a connection in Pharma and Chemistry.

The rest of the day a small voice in my head replayed the question about my nationality over a dozen times. I knew it was supposed to be no more than a get-to-know-you type question, but it did bother me. Twenty plus years of adulthood in one country after being born and raised in another, where did I really belong? My roots span across two continents, my wings are in a third one. Two countries, five states, eight cities that I have already called home, and what if there’s more to come?! In a few weeks the Halloween decorations will be up, only to be replaced by the Diwali lights and colorful Rangoli, to be followed by the Christmas tree….what indeed was my “nationality”? Hard to tell, when the favorite foods at the family dinner table now range from paneer tikka masala to pesto pasta to fish tacos and red curry.   

After the conference, my drive to Vancouver airport and my thoughts were enlightened by my Sikh cabbie. His life journey had taken him across countries and continents as well. His philosophy was simple and deep, “I belong to the place where my family is, where my home is”.

Much like I had naturally chosen to adopt the pen name “Irvinekar”, never realizing until then that I had known the answer all along.

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In the Marathi language, adding a suffix “kar” to a place indicates that is where one is from, and it can be a family name/last name. As in Mumbaikar, Irvinekar….which became my blog name Diwali 2018.