Coming of Age — The Book Roads

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

Thrity Umrigar

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.

India 2004