10 Things Every Punjabi Who Moved Abroad Misses And Will Relate To

Moving abroad and starting over in a new country is one of the most terrifying yet exhilarating adventures ever. We will surely get more freedom and liberty but sometimes the same can weaken us. And in every Punjabi friend circle, there’s always one friend who moved to Canada, Australia, England or some other country. They seem really executed but in the end, they miss a lot of things from their old life and hometown. So, let’s see what things people miss when they leave Punjab and go abroad. 

10 Things Every Punjabi Misses In Abroad

Family Love

No matter how much you are earning or how much you are partying with your friends and living an independent life away from the family. But deep inside we all want that cup of tea sitting with our family and having those memorable conversations on any random topic. 

Festivals

These are the days when you really want to leave everything and go back to India. Be it Holi or Diwali, it’s just a normal day for you when you are staying abroad. You won’t be able to enjoy festivals the way you used to celebrate back home. You’ll be missing those lit streets during Diwali and the gifts you used to receive from relatives or neighbours. Most of the time, you’ll sit alone and cry and miss everything but you’ll be helpless as you can’t do anything.

Foods

Punjabi Food is the best thing that revitalizes you. After spending any amount of time here, your taste buds get accustomed to Indian food, which is flavourful – spicy, sweet, sour and salty all in one meal. These gustatory delights are to be found at every nook and corner – be it at street food stalls or some fancy restaurant. Your tastebuds will yearn for this cuisine for a long time, as it is certainly not found outside the boundaries of Punjab or say India, at least not with the same taste and aroma.

Maa De Hath Di Cha

Be it masala chai, cutting chai from the roads, or any type from a restaurant or a 5 star hotel, it cannot match the level of Maa de hath di chaa. After living abroad for a while, you’ll realize that it’s almost impossible to get your fix here. You may get the Chai latte in your land, but it doesn’t match up to the mother’s chai and surely doesn’t quench your thirst for tea.

Maa De Hath Di Dal-Roti

You may note down and memorize by heart your favorite ‘Dal Tadka’ recipe and measure in closet units possible the ingredients but still, there is something about mom’s magical hands that gives that distinctive taste and aromatic fragrance to her meals, something you can never replicate by following a recipe or find at even top five-star restaurants.

Friends

No friends are as close as childhood friends are. The fun you had in your school time will now only stay with you as memories which you’ll share again and again on phone calls. You’ll always want to go back, hug them, talk to them and have fun once again, but all you can do is dial their number and that too by adjusting to the difference in time zones of both countries. 

Relatives 

One thing which we always stay away from is ‘Our Relatives’. Though there’s a saying that ‘Athi Devo Bhava’ to our relatives, it does not adjust. But when we shift abroad we not only miss our mom and dad, we suddenly have a soft corner for the annoying cousins and relatives as well.

Street Food

Indian street food is just out of the world. Every time you go out to eat something, you’ll crave Indian Street Food. No matter how many Indian restaurants you try, in the end, you’ll be like “Khana acha hai par woh India waali baat nhi hai (Food is tasty but cannot be compared to what we used to eat in India)”.

Language

The most frustrating moment comes when you come to realize that you cannot speak your local language openly. Your eyes will always be looking here and there finding someone with the same culture and nationality so that you can share your feelings in your own language.

Street’s Hustle-Bustle 

You will remember the once irritating but now seemingly musical! Calling of the vegetable vendor, occasional trash collector, the numerous vendors (who know perfectly well the time you sink into deep afternoon nap), the maids zooming in and out of the house, vehicles hooting, screeching, stopping on the adjacent street and many other things. Yes, the sounds of life you once thought were noise is one of the missed things.

If you are the one who lives abroad, these are probably some things which you will miss. And if you are planning to shift then, it goes without saying that nostalgia will kick in, sooner or later.

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