To The Boy That Made Me Fall In Love With India

Dear reader,

I think this might be the most personal short story I’ve ever written. I never talk about boys or my love life. I dunno, perhaps I’m not there yet as a writer. But perhaps I’m getting there.

This is a short story about the boy that made me fall in love with India. I say boy because we were still in college and as much as he may think he was a man, he wasn’t. Nor I a woman. He came to mind because I was dancing to T-pain in front of my mirror yesterday. The memories flooded back. I smiled. And I danced. Like I was 21 again.

We’ll call him Adit. 

If it wasn’t red, undrinkable and in a plastic cup, we didn’t want it.

He was my college crush and the first Indian I really got to know. Growing up in Miami, my diversity of friends was limited to Cuban, Venezuelan and a Peruvian here and there. I didn’t even realize I was the minority until I left Miami for a college eight hours north. Hello, other!

So when I met Adit and all his Indian friends my senior year, I was perplexed. I’ll admit my ignorance. I couldn’t tell you what continent India was in. Or what a samosa was. But I’m glad my bestie begged me to join her on that one night out with them.

Adit and his friends were the nicest, coolest people I’d ever met. I wish I had another adjective to describe them, but they were just so damn nice. They were nothing like the hispanic guys I grew up around.

It always felt like Hispanic guys had ulterior motives. They were charming, passionate, touchy and chauvinistic. When they bought you drink after drink after drink at the club, they expected something in return. I know I’m generalizing, but this is my general experience. Also, we were kids. Let them be.

A Purple Haze in one hand and an Irish Car Bomb in the other. College in a pic.

But not my new Indian friends. That first night out with them, they showered my bestie and I with DRANKS. I waited for the inevitable. You know, the grab, the attempt, the “you wanna get outta here?!” But no. 

They weren’t grabby or possessive or annoying. They were true gentlemen. Really, REALLY fun true gentlemen. In college!? In Tallahassee!?!? I was a little confused and really intrigued.

They were all truly awesome guys. But Adit caught my eye with his honest smile and effortless dance moves.

I was smitten. 

That first night eventually turned into weekends of bonding on the dance floor. I had the time of my college life with him on those nasty Tallahassee dance floors. At times it felt like we were the only ones dancing. Like REALLY dancing. Not just bumping and swaying and grinding all uncoordinated like most of our dear white peers. But like that face to face, eye to eye contact, rhythmic break down. To all the 2010’s classics. The Dream, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, and my favorite, Tallahassee's own T-Pain.

Can someone say the good ol’ days!? Not a care in the world or a hangover in sight. Just a dance floor, a really cute dancer, and a dream.

Where’s the face palm emoji when you need it?

Things remained pretty innocent between us. It never progressed past crushing on him on the dance floor. Probably because I made out with his roommate on a spring break cruise. Oh, 21-year old Janelle. Face palm. (But also, we were kids. Let us be.) Or maybe things didn’t progress because I wasn’t Indian. And as much as my Indian friends tell me they date outside their culture, I have yet to see it. Or it probably didn’t progress because it wasn’t meant to be.

It doesn’t matter. Because 10 years later, I now realize it was India that I was falling for.

Adit doesn’t know this, but he opened my eyes to Indian culture. He showed me how kind, tender, and generous Indians were. I didn’t know it then, but he planted the seed. A hot yoga class five years later watered the seed. The seed slowly began to sprout. A one-year solo trip around India turned the seed into a fully bloomed lotus flower.

I never said thank you. Thank you for showing me India. Thank you for those shared dances. Thank you for planting the seed.

-

P.S: To all the boys I used to love...my words are coming for you ; ).