being asked

I'm often asked about my Indianness, about how it intersects with my Muslimness. People want to know how I reconcile these two parts of my identity, as if they are mutually exclusive. I don't know how to answer this question, because for me, these two identities have always been intertwined. I think about the eidgah near my childhood home, where we would go to pray on Eid. The sound of the azan, the smell of the food, the feel of the sun on my skin. This is what it means to be Indian and Muslim, to be a part of this complex and multifaceted culture. I don't know how to explain this to people, how to convey the sense of belonging that I feel. Maybe it's because I've always taken it for granted, assumed that everyone understands what it means to be a part of this community. But now, as I'm asked to explain it, I realize that it's not so simple. The words get tangled in my tongue, the sentences falter. I'm left with only the feeling, the sense of being a part of something larger than myself.