Where Am I From

This I got from a forum thread where I post my views regularly.

Each of us is from a place that is more than a dot on the map. Every experience that we can recall has left its mark on who we are. You might be surprised what you find as you rummage around in those dusty old trunks--your personality, your family history and traits, and the places you've called home--as you complete the poem with your own memories and facts.

This may be a silly idea, but always worth a shot!

Try say something like this too. To make things easier, maybe you can follow the pattern below:

I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.

I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).

I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail)

I am from _______ (family tradition) and _______ (family trait), from _______ (name of family member) and _______ (another family name) and _______ (family name).

I am from the _______ (description of family tendency) and _______ (another one).

From _______ (something you were told as a child) and _______ (another).

I am from (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.

I'm from _______ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (two food items representing your family).

From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and the _______ (another detail about another family member).

I am from _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).

My Version?



I am from the Television set, the stereo system that is almost ancestral now,
(After all, 20 years for my children is ancestral, do you not wonder now?)

I am from the shell like life in a quiet colony away from city swarm
Where everything was a stone's throw away
I am from the sweet morning and secure evenings
When you could walk on the street anytime without fearing harm
I am still from the quiet colony away from the city swarm

I am from the gooseberry trees,
which we climbed to taste the best ones
I am from the jackfruit trees
that we guarded with our life
I am from the Hibiscus flowers that
took me through my Botany classes at school

I am from training in Hindustani Music
that comes from my mother and my father
I am from the witty sense of humor that
has not left me ever and will always take me further
I come from the awesome combination of Hindi, Urdu and Marathi
and the poetry that I weave in my Mum's guidance

I am from the insatiable appetite and taste for food
that does not die away no matter what the age, physique or mood
I am from the open lines of expressing feelings
and from the resulting sweetness and respect in the bonds

From not leaving your seat at the dining table till the last one is still eating
From never standing while eating because the food goes to your legs
The midnight fairy tales and mythological stories at our beds
The lesson I drew from them, from that's where I am

I am from the grandeur of Diwali, the new clothes and the lights
worshipping the books and geometry box as they take us to heights
I am from the colors of Holi, the greens and blues and reds
the festival of coloured faces and foes turned friends

I am from the warrior state of Maharashtra,
the city of Nagpur, city of oranges,
the city where it doesn't take to become friends from strangers
the city of gola bhaat* and kadhi*

I am from not picking up a pen from the floor just because you know it's lying there
Should you pick it up, you will lose it

Now, your turn!