a guide to greeting relatives

brown kid struggles 👋

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: a guide to greeting relatives 👋

the last time i visited india was 12 years ago. obviously, this long-awaited visit has merited a lot of trips meeting relatives that have apparently held me as a baby. 👶

i was 7 years old last time so i don’t remember too much, but i am capitalizing on the few parts that i do recall to the max. relatives love it when you remember them and can replay a few memories back to them.

my #1 greeting rotation is the following:

some relative: “sehaj! i’m ____ you probably don’t remember though.”

me: “no, i remember!” very excitedly, with a large smile. if i don’t actually remember, i wont elaborate with extra details and the other party will still be satisfied. if i do actually remember, i’ll follow up with a specific detail about our relationship. they’re pleased, i finished my greeting duty and we’re all happy. 😋

fyi i don’t do this in actual conversations — it’s necessary for greeting a certain archetype of relative though, especially when i’m greeting 100+ people in a single day. you can tell very quickly who’s genuine and who isn’t. with the battles of flexing children and insisting on marriage, it’s a trip.

when your relatives start breaking out into random political criticism (trust, i’ve had one too many of these encounters) or other topics you’re not really interested in engaging with, the smile and nod is your best friend. lowkey, even if you don’t understand a word of what someone else is saying, a bright smile is all you need.

a nice “sat sri akaal” (sikh-punjabi greeting), side hug, and big smile does the trick. ;)

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