Being a Parsi in this generation means dealing with a legacy that seems just out of reach ("The languishing language,” Parsiana, August 7-20, 2025). We grew up hearing our grandparents and elders speaking Gujarati at home. We pick up the meanings, the tone, the emotion -- but when it is time to respond we answer in English. Bit by bit, there is a growing disconnect with our legacy.
The phrase "I can understand but I can’t speak” has become a collective confession. It slips out with a shrug, half-apologetic, half-resigned. It’s what we say at weddings when elders switch to Gujarati......