Meet Prema Malhotra. Prema lives in the United States of America along with her family. She has two brothers.
She is just like everyone of us. A slight difference is- Prema was adopted when she was a child.
Prema has willingly agreed to open up to us & share bits of her life.
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| prema malhotra |
Let me tell you, after Prema came to know that she was adopted, her thirst to search for her original parents started. She travelled from USA to India, in search of her roots. She came to know that she was relinquished by her birth mother two days after her birth.
The reason was that her natural mother was abandoned and left alone by her natural father.
Later on she was adopted by her current father & mother.
Prema then started to feel that she really should meet her birth mother.
The struggle Prema went through to search for her birth mother is something one cannot explain. Did she then, meet her natural mother???
She has done extensive research, travelled, met people & prepared an entire study and written down the details of her journey in the Autoethnographic journey of Intercountry Adoption. Here is the link-
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR18/malhotra63.pdf
You can go through it and find out for yourself whether Prema met her birth mother or not…!
Prema was kind enough to answer the following questions:
Me: Tell us something about yourself. What do you do?
Prema: Currently I reside in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois USA. i reside with my (adoptive) parents. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in Justice Studies (formally known as criminal justice) with a minor in Social Work from Northeastern Illinois University. I am currently back to school to earn a certificate in Paralegal Studies. I also currently work with my dad in his accounting firm as an Executive Assistant.
Me: What are your future plans?
Prema: I would want to go into the legal field and work for a law office as a paralegal and I would also like to go back to India at some point for a period of time and do some volunteer work with children.
Me: Of all the struggle you have gone through tell me any one very tough moment for you
Prema: I think one of my tough moments for me was when I started my birth search. This was incredibly tough because searching brought so many anxieties, fears, and was a very tough moment for me. However, having gone through the birth search process, it has helped me to become a stronger and more understanding person. One of the difficulties was trying to understand the Indian culture having been raised in USA and coming to terms with why I was relinquished. Thankfully through the support I had during the time, I have come to terms with why I was relinquished. Looking at the birth search process, the whole search process had a positive affect on me, because I had to go through all the feelings I went through in order to come to a point of understanding, forgiving, and living my life with deeper understanding and gratitude.
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| prema malhotra |
Me: Tell me any good or nice memory related to your parents.
Prema: I have so many nice memories with my (adoptive) parents. My good memory with my (adoptive) mom was when she went to India with me during my Root/Birth Search visit in December 2011. It was nice to be able to travel with her and go out shopping and enjoy my birth country. My good memory with my (adoptive) dad has been always celebrating our birthdays together as our birthdays are very close to each other. The best memory together with both of them is when they saw me graduate with my undergraduate degree. They have seen me go through ups and downs even educationally with studying late hours in the night and always trying to do my best. For them to see me graduate was such a positive memory and to see their smiles and joy was something words cannot even begin to describe. I love both my parents very much and they have always supported me in my life journey.
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| prema malhotra |
Me: Any memorable monsoon incident related to India? (Since it is monsoon here, right now)
Prema: Though I have limited memories of monsoons in India, I remember when I traveled to India in 2006 with a group of adoptees and adoptive parents, I remember we were on the bus driving through India during the monsoon season. It was so much fun to be able to experience the monsoon rains as I never experienced this before. It was so awesome to see children play in the rain.
One thing you love about India and one thing you don’t?
Prema: I absolutely love Indian food! My favorite vegetarian dish is Channa Bhatura and my favorite non vegetarian dish is Chicken Mukani. I don’t think there is anything that I dislike about India.
I know India will always be my home, a place of where I was born, and a country that is deep in my heart.
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| MANASI JOSHI (ME) |
*MY NOTE
I think it takes an enormous amount of courage to reveal what Prema has shared with us today. Prema’s courage and also her strength of character and coming to terms with reality is reflected in the way she calmly answered my questions. It shows that the struggle she went through only strengthened her from within.
Prema is an inspiration in her own way. Her parents too have done a great deal and their adopting Prema has made a huge difference to their and her life.
There are so many homeless children out there. Adopting a child can make some child’s future better.
I am really thankful to Prema who became a part of this post and shared her journey with us. Being adopted is not something that you need to hide. It is a matter or pride for both- the Parents and the Child. That’s the message Prema & her family give us.
Hats off to her & her parents.
A Cupful Of Everything 