First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of an Indian Childhood
India

First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of an Indian Childhood

by Thrity Umrigar

Coming of Age Non-Fiction Memoir 2004

Summary

Growing up in 1960s and 1970s Bombay, Thrity Umrigar navigates the contradictions of childhood in a middle-class Parsi family. Attending a Catholic school in a predominantly Hindu city, she becomes increasingly aware of the cultural, religious, and economic divisions that shape the world around her. At home, she experiences both the warmth of her father’s affection and the painful consequences of her mother’s harsh discipline. As she grows older, Umrigar begins questioning the expectations imposed on her and confronting the complicated truths of her family. Through intimate memories of childhood, adolescence, and her eventual departure for America at twenty-one, she reflects on identity, belonging, family secrets, and the inequalities of Indian society. First Darling of the Morning is a deeply personal memoir about growing up between cultures and finding the courage to imagine a life beyond the boundaries of one’s upbringing.

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About the author
Thrity Umrigar
Thrity Umrigar

Thrity Umrigar is an Indian-American novelist, journalist, and professor born in Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1961. She grew up in a Parsi family and moved to the United States at the age of 21. Her experiences of migration and cultural displacement have strongly influenced her writing, which frequently explores class, gender, identity, and the complexities of belonging. Umrigar earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bombay before completing graduate studies in journalism and English at Ohio State University and Kent State University. Before becoming a full-time academic and novelist, she worked as a journalist for publications including The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. Her novels include The Space Between Us (2006), The Weight of Heaven (2009), The World We Found (2012), The Story Hour (2014), and Honor (2022). Her work often examines the lives of women navigating social hierarchies, family expectations, and cultural change. She is a professor of English at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where she teaches creative writing and literature.

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Published
2004
Author
Thrity Umrigar