Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, 22:04 IST

People don't believe me when I tell them how my family holds regular discussions (or rants) on relationships, exes, depression, death, alcohol, and (obviously) scandals of our relatives.

My family wasn't always like this. It has evolved (a lot) from a medium conservative one to a pretty cool one. After multiple in-house struggles and a whole lot of awkward moments, we arrived here. Five best friends sipping beer every weekend. I distinctly remember those moments when I used to find it so hard to love my parents because of their decisions and imposed rules. That was my rebel period. Disagreements and fights were very usual back then.

Unlike most of the stories that I've heard, my parents settled this rebellion by actually understanding our needs. They only put forward one condition - we will take time to adjust. Bhai and I respectfully reciprocated the same.

I'll always be grateful to my parents and grandfather for even wanting to try. It's because of them that I never feel emotionally bottled up. I know I have a panel of nonjudgemental folks who will direct me towards what's best. I don't always do what they ask me to, and they respect that.

I'm not going to lie, parents have this underlying ability to detect trouble long before you notice it. Call it the sixth sense or superpower, it seems to work fine for me.

One lesson by them that will always remain imprinted in my head is:

"Respect disagreements. Once you learn to do so, disagreements will fail to disappoint you."