"The project centers on my childhood memories of visiting my grandparents. I loved fruits, and this taste for fruits developed during my trips to my grandparents' farm. There, I could climb trees and pluck whatever fruit caught my fancy. Growing up bilingual meant that languages often clashed in my little head. I'd think in one language and respond in another. As children, we learn the basics like the alphabet, numbers, and the names of fruits and vegetables. I assumed that these names were universal, but that assumption would lead to a shocking revelation in this story.

One sunny day, during one of my breaks' I visit my mother's hometown, we received a call from my grandmother. She excitedly informed us about the lovely batch of papayas ripening on our farm. Now, the catch here was that my grandmother didn't speak a word of English. In our native language Hindi, 'papaya' translates to 'papita.' (I loved all kinds of fruits, but there was something about the texture of papayas that never quite sat right with me).

When we arrived at my grandmother's place, she presented a plate filled with papayas. I was baffled and couldn't comprehend what was happening. I had been promised a new fruit, and here I was, served with papaya! My five-year-old self felt utterly betrayed and threw a dramatic fit that lasted for days. I insisted that I had been scammed by the adults of the family and that I wasn't getting what was initially agreed upon. I sulked, pouted, and acted like the spoiled child I was.

This memory is incredibly dear to me because, as a child, it felt like an earth-shattering event. Back then, navigating life was a tad tricky because I couldn't seamlessly switch between languages like I can now. It's a bittersweet reminder of my childlike self and the charming struggles of my childhood"