Pop Girls Love Grandma

Cousins Neha (10), Indira and Rohini (14) gave me a tour of the house. Their bedrooms were no different to the rooms of my teenage cousins in New Zealand, or Sandy’s teenage daughter in Toronto. JT, Avril, Green Day and Beyonce are stuck to the walls. The computer sits there ready for another Facebook session.



But just around the corner, the girls open a door into a tiny room where a small shrine sits against the wall.

“This is where we pray to our god. This is everything to us…. I pray to say thankyou if I get a good grade, or if I’m are happy about my dog, or if there’s something wrong at school.”

The girl’s grandmother teaches them about their god, and they absolutely love her. They eat breakfast in her room, Indira (like so many other Indian grandchildren) sleeps in her bed, partly to ease the emptiness left since her grandfather died.



These girls are cute and cool and modern, but they’re also incredibly proud of their traditions and passionate in their beliefs.

Opportunity: Hold on to the good bits of the past as you move them forward.