Every 4th of July, in Dr. Prasad’s hometown, we would all attend the annual celebration in his town of Maplewood. And each year there would be a small town circus, that Dr. Prasad would without fail attend. I remember one year, all of us adults are standing in line to get tickets, surrounded by and feeling like kids.

At the peak of my teenage rage and angst, my mother had dragged me to a family pooja early on a Saturday morning. To make things worse, none of my cousins had showed up and I had no company whatsoever. Tension had been building up for months as I was due to take my driver’s license test soon and no one had helped me practice.

I celebrated my engagement in March 2019. Prasad Uncle graciously agreed to perform the religious ceremony. It was so great to have family sing on the stage helping us through the ceremony and explaining the significance of the rituals we were performing.