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I remember having classmates over for a playdate once in elementary school. My friend walked by my parents’ room and peeked in. “What are those funny looking dolls? Why are there flowers in front of them? Why is there smoke burning from that stick?”



Itsy Bitsy Memories Photography

I explained that it was my mother’s prayer area. As a Hindu, my mother prayed every evening after bathing, offering flowers and lighting incense. And those were not dolls; they were our Hindu gods.



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