CINDY REEJSINGHANI

I'm Cindy Reejsinghani.  My husband is Alok Reejsinghani, of course. We grew up - both in Western Massachusetts. He grew up in the town of Wilbraham, the home of Friendly's. I grew up in an adjacent town, with different school systems, in a suburb of Springfield called Sixteen Acres. 

We met in '92 in Springfield. I was finishing up my undergrad degree and he was home for his Masters from the University of Florida. And two mutual friends of ours - who were dating - tried to introduce us. They were going out that evening, and my friend's boyfriend at the time, Steve - his nickname was Fat Man - was trying to convince me to have Alok come out. He was lying to Alok, saying I wanted to meet him and telling me Alok wanted to meet me, which was total lies. 

How do you feel about short hairy Indian men? was the pitch. I knew Steve.  I trusted him. He said he's a good-looking guy and ultimately, he was.  And Alok had really no confidence in Steve's ability to judge who he should future-date anyway. But he came and like he says, Oh, she was cute!  Wait what's the catch? And anyway, there was no catch. 

Alok's family...culturally...ultimately, they wanted him to date an Indian girl. And so, we snuck for a long time. For about four years, we hid our relationship. The ultimate break was that I was with Alok after he had surgery for his ACL, and his parents called to get a report about how he was doing and asked him if he needed any help.  And he was able to say, No, Cindy's here helping. 

I think that was the in. 

Once they did meet me, they did give me a chance.  I had the interview. It was a dinner setting and, you know, sitting there with them, asking me questions.  It really was like the Spanish Inquisition. It was a little bit nerve wracking. You know, what my parents did for work was very important to them. That was very hard.  To sit there and say, they were, you know, they were working class people. That they didn't have an education beyond high school. You know, I wasn't going to fake who I was. I'm very fond of my parents and who they are - and I wasn't going to let them down. 

I strongly represent them. 

My dad was a blue collar, hardworking guy - didn't graduate high school, was dyslexic - it was later found out, and really couldn't read his whole entire life.  And I didn't find that out until later in my life, which explained a lot about how he operated in the world. Hardworking guy. Loved his family dearly. 

In fact, today would be my parents' - if he were still living - 51st anniversary.  Which is pretty heartfelt. We were able to celebrate their 50th, and four months later, he passed. As a result of lung disease, from what he did as a chemical blender at HeatBath Corporation in Springfield. He was the poor guy, without a mask, pouring in chemicals into the vat to be mixed.  

My mom was a nurse's aide - worked in hospitals and then ultimately worked in home care providing care to elders.  

We used to pass through Westport a lot, and as a kid, I just felt a natural kinship to the town. I can't explain that. It just felt right, right away. I liked the fact that there's been a lot more diversity. We're seeing more mixed-race couples also, which is great for my kids because they are.

And you know, in fact, Layla is making a connection at school - in high school - with kids that are half-Asian and half-white like she is, and they call themselves the half-Asians. It's really funny. It's great. It's great bonding experience.

You know, everybody's a mix - and that needs to be acknowledged.