"Nana, you're infected with the ideas of the West and this Rap thing, you have no regard for our sacred traditions, your mother would be so ashamed if she were alive, you're dead to me," Mohinder Kujur said to his daughter, Narmada "Nana" Kujur, and then he turned his back on her. Stunned by her father's harsh words, the young woman blinked back tears.
The Adivasi patriarch had been set in his ways long before the Kujur family left their homeland of Jharkhand, Eastern India, and moved to the City of Toronto, Ontario. For anyone to expect him to change was utter foolishness. Narmada Kujur knew this better than anyone. Born in India and raised in Ontario, Canada, Narmada knew she'd never be 'Indian enough' for her father, or Canadian enough for the outside world. Her only choice was to be her own woman.
"I should have known better than to tell you about my choices," Narmada replied, and her father ignored her and slammed the door in her face. Narmada's decision to take a year off to find herself after graduating from Carleton University, rather than gear up for the MCAT had been met with staunch disapproval from her Baba. Add to that the fact that Narmada played with a Rap group, a decidedly non-traditional occupation for any South Asian person, and one could see the source of parental conflict...
"Your black friends will never amount to anything and you let them influence you too much, go stay with them because I'm through with you," Mohinder Kujur hollered, from inside the house. Narmada flinched and took one last look at the old man, and shook her head. With that, the young Adivasi woman shook her head and sighed, then left the Barrhaven house where she'd lived for the past twenty four years. Just like that, a new chapter of her life officially began...
"The only thing I ever wanted is my own way," Narmada said, mostly to herself, as she headed for the OC Transpo bus station on Marketplace Street. The 95 bus pulled into the terminal, and a dozen people got on. Narmada swiped her bright green Presto card against the electronic reader, and the bus driver, a chubby white woman with red hair, nodded at her. With a faint smile, Narmada headed for the swivel chairs, her favorite spot.
As Narmada Kujur sat down, her phone began to buzz. She smiled when she saw who it was. Suleiman TouadΓ©ra, the six-foot-tall, dark and handsome Muslim brother originally from metropolitan Bangui, in the Central African Republic. They met a couple of years ago at Carleton University and had been close friends ever since. Although Narmada and Suleiman hailed from different worlds, they soon found out they were both birds of a feather...
Suleiman came to Canada to study civil engineering, and graduated from Carleton University a few months ago. The brother was working for Tech Mage, a local startup company while also rapping with Soul Fire North, the Rap group he co-founded with Narmada and their mutual friend Ahmet, a young Turkish guy who also attended Carleton U. They performed at various events, and even opened for world-famous artists at Capital Hoe Down and Blues Fest. Yeah, they were definitely coming up in the world...
"What's good, my princess?" Suleiman's deep, masculine voice chimed in, and Narmada smiled to herself. It was astonishing how much the charismatic young African's deep voice could affect her. Suleiman had that infectious smile and natural charisma that made many a woman melt. Of course, he'd always carried a torch for her, but Narmada never gave in to his advances, preferring not to mix business with pleasure...
A lot of people on the Carleton University campus thought Suleiman and Narmada were an item, since they went everywhere together. Many thought that the tall, muscular and handsome young African artist-scholar and the curvy, brown-skinned and fiery Indian cutie with the angelic voice would make quite a couple. Of course, they were just friends. Real good friends, but friends just the same.
If Suleiman wished he and Narmada were an item, he certainly didn't let on. The young woman thought of the endless parade of white chicks that flocked to Suleiman. Yeah, the African stud wasn't losing sleep over her, that's for damn sure. Narmada, a serial monogamist, didn't believe in the love-them-and-leave-them attitude that Suleiman had towards women.