What Was I Like as a Kid?

What's up? Its sauce on the side. Welcome back from vacation, Diamond, Oh, thank you? Did you go anywhere and do anything fun?

No you going? No, no, no, no.

I missed you. I missed you too. You know how you can tell if I miss you because I reach out to you. And because when I saw Scotty, because Scotti brought his daughter to Ohio to look at Ohio, the Ohio State University, so I got to show her around. We were standing outside a Donados where there was karaoke. It's a pizza place, it's a chain pizza place, and I could not believe there was karaoke. Was the worst thing I've ever heard, and I thought of you, so

Do you know I hate when people are good at karaoke, like they can sing, Like, what's the point go fucking get a record deal or something like that.

Right here, we want horrible singers.

Okay, I mean you would have loved this one. It was so bad, was so bad I can't even do an impression of it. It was just so bad, and I was like, why are they a pizza place where?

Okay, cool, cool, this is great, a good time.

But wait, you're not a bad karaoke person, but you love karaoke, So how do you fit into that?

What do you mean? I rap songs or I do? Like, are you not a good rapper?

Sure, as long as you know the words right, But like I'm talking about people who can actually sing.

Yeah, who get up there and they're like this is my moment.

Yeah, like fuck them.

And there was this girl on a boat I'll never forget it. It's on a cruise and I did like tutsi roll and won an award, and then she came up right after me. Thankfully she was after me, and she did alone. How can I get killed it?

Wow?

Killed it?

And like a part of me was like, wow, that's really cool, but then the other half of me was like, fuck you you can sing?

Go get a record deal, oh, because it's just that easy.

Well, like, girl, go join a choir.

I always think too when there's somebody up there like doing terribly and then their friends clap for them like yeah, girl, you killed it. Oh my god. I'm like That's how American idol, terrible auditions happen. It is that right there. I'm might encourage your friend, but like, holy t.

If you did karaoke, I'd be like, yes, how dare you?

I would be amazing. I would not. I would not.

Well, you can carry a tune. You and Danielle can't do karaoke.

Then there's carrying a tune, and then there's being a good singer. Those are like wildly different things. You know, who can't carry a tune? It makes me chuckle.

Oh coasor boy Josh, oh god.

He like he does all of our imaging, which, by the way, if you don't know what that is, it's the sound effects and the image of our show. He puts all that together, so he's obviously musically inclined in some way. Well, that man cannot sing to save his damn life. He comes in like a key and a half off every time. That's but damn it if he doesn't give it us all anyway, All right, this podcast's been holding on to for a minute because I recorded

Yeah? I think it's fair.

My dad really liked you, by the way.

Yeah.

Him.

I wanted to hug him, but I was like, I don't know if I should be hugging somebody's dad like this.

You can huld my dad people hugs. He's actually like very cudly. Really Yeah, his cheeks are so soft. I love giving him kisses anyway. Okay, so here comes my dad. Best of Look, you've been warned. I don't want to hear it. Hello Dad, Hello, how are you good? Okay? So you have been probably the most requested person that people want me to have on my podcast.

Because they want somebody to laugh at and make their day.

Yes, that is it. That's what they want. So I said, okay, I'm gonna have my dad come into the podcast. I wanted you to be part of the show this morning, but traffic we got a little late, so you couldn't be on the show. But you're still doing my podcast. So people have sent questions that they want to ask you about me, about you, about family, all kinds of stuff.

I will do my best to answer them.

Okay, the first question. First of all, Dad, thanks for joining me. I would say that to anybody who was coming in and doing the podcast with me.

I am delighted to be here. Thank you.

What made you come visit?

I've not seen you in a long time, and I decided I want to see New York and see if you're really living here.

Somewhere else and what have you determined?

At least you're not living under a bridge, Dad. Nice apartment, Okay, beautiful apartment.

I'm glad you like it.

I'm very very jealous of that apartment.

Plea. You have a nice house in Florida. Yeah, with a big pond, an alligators.

Beautiful lights out there at night. It looks so beautiful.

Yeah, we could trade anytime.

And like I told you. I always love to see the clouds below the apart.

That's nice, all right. So the questions they ranged from all over the place. First of all, is there anything you would like to say? Would you like to introduce yourself? I mean, this is my dad. His name's per Deep. He's one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. That's how I would introduce you. How would you introduce yourself?

Well, as you already announced my name, I don't need to announce it again. No, but I came here to New York because I love visiting it as a tourist. Also, uh huh, and I wanted to see how things look from the apartment of Meda, which is a beautiful, beautiful apartment.

Okay, we have a guest. It's Elvish.

God, this is amazing.

We were podcasting. He did this actually this attitude? Yeah nothing, do you want? You want to be part of the podcast?

No? Go do you thing? There?

You are?

Hello, Welcome to New York Dad, Why, thank you so much?

Thank you so much.

Now what were you guys talking about? What did I miss out on?

This is we actually just started it. And this works out even better because now you can ask questions that you want to have answered if you want. But my dad was just introducing himself and saying why he came to New York. He said he loved it as a tourist when he was a kid.

Actually, Elvis gave me a very good opening. Yeah, by calling me father, Now I can say I'm the father of New York compared to my grandfather was father of the nation.

A lot of fathers in this film lot.

You know, he's the godfather of radio.

Well, let me say something about Elvis. Yes, we got a new financial investment advisor a few weeks ago. She and her daughter are running the business, and she was taking all the details from us, and she said, Mayda Gandhi, is that the lady on the Elvis Durancho. I said, yes. She goes, I love Elvis. I was born and brought up in Jersey City, and I moved to Tampa a few years ago, and I still listened to the radio show every morning. See, so I said, that is surprising.

Very long.

I'm very I'm older than you. You're laughing, and I hear not in look not at all. See it's kind of wild.

Yeah.

I've been doing this in at this radio station in New York since nineteen eighty eight.

Yeah.

Yeah, so a lot of people fly, They fly out of the nest and go to Tampa. Yeah, and now she's driving you into bankruptcy.

Off my chair. Her name is Lisa Green.

Lisa Green from Jersey City. I remember Lisa Green.

I don't know how she connected everything. That was amazing.

Well, there's not many Gandhi's around.

That's true. But then the other incident, and I don't know if may I shared this with you. My brother lives in a different part of Florida and it's called the Villages.

Oh yeah, we're the old people hook up with other old people, leave their leave their dentures in people's beds and things.

Yes, yeah, yeah, that's the one.

So they had gone to the Barnes and Noble in the Villages and when he was at the register paying, the lady saw the name Shanti Gandhi and he said, are you related to the famous Gandhi? And he said, what, Mama Gandhi. No, no, no, I'm talking to.

Look at that.

Finally, finally, hey, quickly they forgot how quickly they forget what Gandhi did and now you're the famous Ghandi.

Tension is the right word? Made them?

Maybe not to riotriting, notieting.

So I missed out of the conversation. You said you came to New York when you were younger, Like what what years did that?

Spad once? The first time I came here was when I came with my parents in nineteen seventy two.

What was New York City like in nineteen seventy two? A whole different city.

It doesn't seem much different, which was already so developed by then that I can't tell the difference. New York has been always a haven for tourists, and we had heard so much about New York in Mumbai, all the pictures we had seen of New York, especially the one where the guys are building the Empire State Building.

Oh yeah up in the.

So for us when we come here, it's like, yeah, I've seen this in pictures before. Whereas many other cities you can tell, oh, it wasn't this way. It was a rural town and now look at it. So New York was developed so far back that one is very hard for me to tell the difference.

Do you remember what you ate oh here, Yeah, what did you eat?

Well, I have to say that I was exposed in front of my dad. We were vegetarians in India. Mm hmm. Well, when I came here, I took to all the sandwiches and everything, and my dad got suspicious and he said, have you been eating meat in India? I just say, yeah, I did eat whoops?

He said.

He would take his pocket money and run out to street vendors and get meat and eat meat.

Just meat, no bread, no vegetables, just meat. You would eat live livestock, eat a live You would eat a chicken as it walked by.

God, what are they doing Mumbai? You need to eat some meat. Well, that's that's fascinating.

Nineteen seventy two in New York City because my mom and dad would be here as well during those years. I would never come. I came as a child. I was in in the nineteen seventies, but I don't remember it that much. But they said New York City to them was a whole different place than it is now. The way they describe New York City in nineteen seventy two, when you were here was just a wonderful, positive place. So I went online and googled street scenes nineteen seventy

Twenty twenty four.

You got to sort of like this year.

You got to see some obviously the better parts of the city.

But the things that stick out today that I can remember is not so much of New York City. But my brother took us all on a trip from Detroit to San Francisco by car. Wow. He was studying to be a cardiac cardiologist, so he had a conference there while he was working in Detroit. So we all went with him, and he did a neat thing. He attached the movie camera to the driver's side reary mirror, so as he drove, it took the movie.

All along the original GoPro that's hot.

Yeah. So we went past Las Vegas and everything today and I see Las Vegas. I can tell, oh, yeah, look at this.

This is so different it's at now Las Vegas has gone through quite the transformation.

New York looked like it was New York from eighteen nineties.

It was a lot of New York is still here as a matter of fact. Down in the village where they have the rosen rows of Old Town homes built in the eighteen hundreds. When it snows, the snow seems to cover up everything that's modern day. And you just see what you see left over are these old town homes and you can imagine those exactly.

That's exactly what the streets look like back in those days. Beeping.

Oh, I'm glad you asked that question. So my dad has a pump, has a diabetic pump for his insulince.

Oh my god, do you need to call that? Nine one one is letting him know you look good.

The beep is letting him know his sugar's high. And I know why his sugar's high, because I think he snuck off to Krispy Krean before he came here.

Oh my god, did you or did you not? Yes?

For you, Thank god you didn't have that hooked up to you back in the day and it detected meat in your system. Can you guysually have a meat a meatometer? Your son's been eating meat again? What do we do with this boy?

But actually, my mom was a meat eater and my father was a vegetarian, and so it was always a conflict at home, and he had forbidden my mother from making any meat or any fish. She loved fish more than me, right, so one day she just couldn't handle it.

Get closer to that microphone if you're yes.

So when he was out of town, she had some shrimp brought into the house, cooked everything, and she was an excellent chef, but it leaves an odor. Unfortunately, he decided to come home early and while she was cooking all this, he was on.

His way while it was in the pan, almost.

Cooked, and she had me rushing around with all these deodorant smells and everything like that. My dad came, what the hell is all this deodren going on smelling something funny? I said, that's all you're smelling, right, Yeah, okay, no problem.

And still, I mean never found out.

I think he suspected, but he was too hesitant to ask.

Well, outside of all things podcasting, I really just wanted you guys to say hi, I meet each other because my dad, my big brother.

It's an honor to meet you, and thank you for the gift of Mayda because we're having way too much fun.

How long have we worked together now?

Six years?

Six years.

I have been here for six years, dad, Yeah, that's crazy.

I feeling like yesterday I came to see you in Boston.

And it was like just yesterday she arrived here as well. That's the magic of your daughter.

Time warp.

There's no concept of time or space.

No, I didn't realize.

Yeah, I know it's crazy, right, Okay, Well I do have to run, But I have a question.

But I have a question. I have so many questions for you.

My favorite one is are you proud of where she's living and what she's doing right now?

We are very proud, especially because our contribution as parents has been very minimal. And the reason I say that we are not from the entertainment industry, so we know nothing about it. For this kid to have bucked the trends, taken on all those challenges, the only credit we would claim is we didn't stop her from doing anything, and that, to me, is entirely her credit. I knew she was

I had a thinking spot.

Do you have a thinking spot today?

I do now, it's more like the couch in the bathroom hid my own space. But when you're a little kid, you just need to get out of the house and get away from everybody and think. And that was my thinking spot. He thinks. That's so funny, man.

That brings up a lot of what it's like living with parents who have expectations for your education and your education foundation of education, and of course the different plateaus of excellence and success. And she always wonders if you guys really truly are proud of where she is.

And what she's accomplishing. Oh yes, so he told you clear as day.

Yes, I think that.

I think she doesn't realize that. It's understandable. Parents from India and countries out there, they don't normally boast about their kids and family because it's considered a bad taste. So we grew up that way and to adjust to this new culture. It's tough for people, you know, so we just say, Okay, she's doing fine, no big deal. But she has done a great job. And even though I don't like comparisons, just to give an idea when she was when she was first born, I truly thought she was retarded.

Yes, because at that age, how can you detect?

Our older daughter was moving along very very well. This one came along and she was well behind in all the developmental phases from our first daughter. I do not remember in orders my wife remember her ever standing up and learning to walk. She was crawling at the age when our older daughter was walking. And now even when we took her to the daycare center, I told the lady there, I said, please keep an eye on her. I think she's retarded.

He thought I was joking.

Okay, how that worked out?

He developed in quantumly. There's no incremental things. One day she's crawling, the next day she's walking. There's no learning stage there of falling and all that same thing. In school. I said, man, this kid's gonna be retarded. But then I started testing her and she goes way ahead of the crowd. There you go, I said, I want to leave her to her face.

Oh my god. Yes, he tells everybody this. By the way, in that exact same phrasing, and he says he never remembers me saying a first word. I said nothing until it was way late, and he thought I was elementally challenged. And then I said a full sentence. It was I would like some milk so.

Rather than I would like some milk please, so rather rather than her first word.

It was her first thesis.

Center one day and the lady said, mister Gandhi, you kept thinking your daughter was retarded. She was discussing Einstein's theory of relatives.

Wow, your daughter is a theory on the marine montressory theory of precognitive learning.

Exactly what.

She's the opposite of developmentallystion is mainly to leave them alone.

Good good thinking, please. But also I would think.

That you know, Meida is more in line of this creative thinking side of the brain and content for a show. And your other, your sibil, your your sister, maybe she's more book smart more.

No, they are very practice And I've got to say this, I was going to say that earlier. I look at both our kids and they're very different. Yes, our older daughter, before she takes a step, will analyze every possibility, m rolls and cons and then she moves this one, jumps in with both feet without thinking, and if it doesn't work out, declares victory and walks away.

So maybe there's water in that pool, maybe not dive in. I must leave you now.

It's the moment.

It's a pleasure meeting you. Oh my god. I could go on and on for hours with.

You, you and your daughter.

She tells us you are a blessing too.

Yeah.

Absolutely, she's candy coating that, sugarcoating.

That that's one thing you won't get to there.

This is true. I love you. I love you even more than element.

Thanks for stopping.

There's more podcast to go, more podcast.

Thank you very much, take care by.

Later. So okay, so these no, you're okay. These are actually some of the questions that people wanted to ask you. You know, what was it like growing up with me or what was it like raising me as a child. You've kind of answered that the best question. And I want to start here, what do you think I do for a living?

You have exercise? First thing is you have known from childhood what you were, who you were, what your attributes are with ninety percent of humanity does not know.

Oh that's nice.

That led you into the profession of your choice, and when you use your talents into the right profession, your contributions are magnificent. Most people, i'm sorry to say, don't know that, myself included, and it's at a later age that we find out, ooh, I needed to go here. Luckily, in my case things worked out fine where I made

Well, that's very nice of you, thanks Dad.

And I have to say that even with Priya, she was very decisive after graduating in journalism for her to completely change course do it all on her own. The first time I came to know she had changed her career was when she almost graduated from me. Yes, and that requires a lot of courage, and for her to take up a profession in which blood is the major factor and she hated. The sight of blood tells you how well she thinks. Two thinks, though, so we feel very fortunate to have two wonderful.

Well, I appreciate that, but no, my question was, what do you think I do? What do you think my job is? What do you think I do for a living?

I would say your job is number one to entertain the public at times of stress, okay, and number two to educate them through that process, okay, without coming across as if you're lecturing them.

So if somebody were to ask you what is your daughter's job, what is your answer?

I said, my daughter's job is to inform the people and make them laugh okay, and they are ready to cry.

So you wouldn't say she's a co host of a radio show.

I would not even I would assume they knew that.

Okay.

That's why, because the people asking me would be very much the ones who know you're on a show.

Well, Prayer and I were talking the other day and we said, you know, I don't know if somebody asked mom and dad what do both of us do, if they would be able to say it in one sentence, what either of us do?

But see, if I tell everybody you're a co host of a radio show, it is not as impressive, okay as telling them what you actually do.

But you know I'm a co host of a radio show. Yes, okay, Yes, and what would you say, I'm bringing that.

Kind of I would say inhibits. Like I told Elvis earlier, Indian parents is they don't like to boast about it. No, no, no, no, to boast about them, So it can be easily construed by people as if we're boasting. So careful about how we come across.

I totally get that. And I actually don't think you know. I told you I don't want you guys to talk about my job. I just want you to talk about us as people whomever we are. Lot no, no, no, no, no, I would rather you not do it. We were just wondering if both of you, if you and mom actually knew what we did.

Oh yeah, absolutely. Mom actually thinks she is the co host with you on Elvis Durantro.

Did she figure out how to get the iHeartRadio app back on her phone?

I don't know if she's figured out how that phone works. Did you?

You don't have it on your phone either.

Do you?

Uh?

No, I don't have that app?

No, because you just got a new iPhone, right okay, and.

I'm still trying to master Remember this is my first smartphone.

I know you had a flip phone until a few weeks ago, a flip phone. That is nuts. Do you know?

I do not like the iPhone because to me, the purpose of a phone is communications. That's it. Okay, my flip phone, I could do everything I wanted except text messages.

And now you're texting like a champion.

Yeah, but that did not connect people too.

Okay, that's okay.

It's a matter of time.

Yeah, you'll figure it out.

And don't get me wrong. I love the technology. It is the misuse to which it can be put so that bothers me. Okay, so that's why the flip phone. You could not misuse it that way.

Dad. I was so mad when you broke the first flip phone and you went to the store to get it fixed. I thought you were going to come out with a smartphone because I didn't know they had flip phones. And when you came home with a second flip phone, correct, I wanted to have that guy's ass. You said. He walked back in the back, found a box and was like, oh, we have another flip phone for you.

I would have had a third flip phone had they not said that we don't repay these phones anymore.

Oh my god, thank god, because it's a relic. It might as well be on the Titan.

Yes, so am I kind of relic too, Okay, I'm proud of it.

All right.

Other questions that were submitted by listeners of our podcast.

So I need to do the names. Who these listeners are? I don't.

We don't have names I have.

I'm just kidding.

I have Instagram handles, and I know you don't like Instagram and all that stuff either.

The only gramm I know is telegram.

Wait you know telegram?

I mean sending a telegram.

Oh, like the instant telegram, because you know Telegram is.

An app now too, Oh I didn't know.

Yeah, it's it's it's like another social platform where you can talk to people and communicate.

Oh yeah, okay, why do you need so many platforms when there are already so many there?

Well, a lot of people don't like certain censorship on certain platforms, so then they'll go somewhere else where they think they have more free speech.

Some people don't like that choice. So you get to talk to everybody whatever you want, you.

Like calling them? Yeah, okay, all right?

What wait?

Wait wait, I got to say something about what calling versus texting? Yeah, I have seen you and Priya sitting in the car are as my passengers and people from other cars looking inside to see what these monkeys are doing. You look like crazed, insane people banging away at the iPhone.

Now, welcome.

You would not have had that problem with the flip phone.

Welcome to the club. Now you're going to do the same thing.

Use it. I just use it for a couple of things communications meaning contacts and text. That's it. I yet to look at any of the apps. I asked the Apple guy, can you delete all these apps from the phone? And he looked at me like I was insane. He said, so, why are you buying an iPhone? Yes? I said, only for this.

And you also put a case on your phone that protects it. But you can't use the camera.

You have to take.

The case off.

You have to take the case off to use the camera.

No, I don't need to do a case off.

No.

What I do is it's for those who are in the know. I have an outer box case and the auto box case comes as a case with a holster feathers that it protect the camera. Yeah cover when you want to take a picture, all you do is take the whole stout.

That's what I'm saying. You're going to take the case off. You have to take it out of that thing to take a picture.

Yeah, I don't take the case out of the phone. What I don't take the case off the phone.

Oh you're saying, just the just the whole thing that clips on. But still you have to take it off to take a picture.

And I don't want to take picture.

Have you even taken a picture? Have you taken one?

No? Okay, no?

Cool?

But I want to remind you of what George Carlin said.

Yes. Please.

For those who don't know, George Carlin was a great comedian okay in the nineties, and in one of his episodes, he said, what is this thing with the one hour development of photographs? You just saw the damn thing. Why do you have to take a picture of it? Now? That's how I outrate.

That is not true. You love photos. You love looking at a picture, a baby picture of Pria and I or Pria's wedding pictures. You always want to see pictures, you say, send me photos. Whenever I take a trip, send me photos. You want to see them?

Yeah, because now I don't travel anymore. Okay, try not to travel, so I get all my vacations for from watching videos. Okay, normally I watched those videos on the computer. So if you send me the photographs, I watch it on my computer so I can see. Okay, may I went to Mexico, and this is how Mexico looks. Okay. When I was traveling a lot, it didn't matter to me. I could go and see it for myself.

Okay.

But now because I'm not traveling, I've had so many vacations sitting at home. Okay, I've seen the entire Russian countryside. I've traveled the Trans Siberian Railway. Now I wants to travel in person, I don't. I've seen it all.

Okay, fair enough.

I can give advice to people who want to go.

Next listener submitted question, I don't think we've even gotten really any yet. What are you least proud of? When it comes to me, least least proud of.

That I cut your hair and made you look like a boy.

That's true. That was so bad. Do you remember how often people used to ask me if I was a boy or a girl.

Wasn't I preparing you for today's world?

Then?

Oh?

Yeah, thanks, that's why now I want to have so much hair and all the hair all the time because you made me look like a little mushroom. Like every Indian kid, by the way, gets these horrible haircuts. So thanks a lot, but.

Sorry, that's the one thing I'm not proud of it.

But that's something that you're not proud of about you? What about me? What about me? Are you least proud of? And you're not gonna hurt my feelings.

About you that I'm least proud of about me? I really cannot think of anything, okay nothing. I would probably say I'm most proud of you about many things, but I don't think anything i'm least proud of you. The most proud of you I am is you can associate with its comebacks, You can associate with wonderful people and not lose even the slightest knowledge of who you are.

Yeah, you really didn't like some of my friends growing up.

Yeah, and time proved it to be true.

Yeah, you're right, you're right.

So that to me, I cannot think of a single thing that I'm not proud of about you in Priya.

Wow, really, what a nice thing to say. Thanks Dad?

Okay, And I would tell you right now.

I know you would, I have no doubt. So I tell stories about you a mom on the air all the time, and people don't believe them. They think there's no way that that happened. And some of them make me laugh all the time. You guys make me laugh all the time. But specifically, you know, we live in this age where parents are just clapping for their kids all the time. You're amazing. Everything you do is the

Yes, we did, absolutely we did. And you can see today what's happening in education. Ye right, to get a report card on your English language writing which was full of spelling errors, full of grammatical errors, and then to read that you got a bee is an insult to us.

So you came to the school to tell the teacher that it is an insult that she gave a bee. Yea, and in fact that paper deserved a lower grade. Right, very shocking for that teacher.

Nope, she was actually actually she was afraid when she met us. She said, what's the matter? Should have given them an A. And that really made Mangola and me live it.

That's my mom.

Yeah, and we said, what are you talking about? This paper deserves an F. And she was breathing such a sigh of relief. She said, mister Gandhi, you have no idea how much grief I tolerate because parents come here demanding that their kids get an A. Yeah, and today we are seeing the result of that poor grading process everywhere.

I bet, and now we are. I'm actually really glad that you guys did that. I say all the time, I am very happy almost everything that you and mom told me when I was younger, you will thank me for this when you grow up. You're right about I actually can't think of the things that you were not right about. So I'm just going to say you guys were right about a lot of it. And I'm glad

I'm not proud of saying that you will thank us for it. I'm proud that you understood and appreciated it and took full advantage of it. That's what I'm proud about.

Yeah, you guys made us very self reliant and independent, and we figured out how to, you know, get around a lot of things.

I was actually simply carrying on a tradition of my parents. Yeah, because when I was in school in India, I remember my father coming to school and berating the teacher for giving me a higher grade than I deserved.

Oh, so you were just paying it forward.

Yeah, okay, great.

Are you having fun doing this?

Enjoying it?

Yeah?

I'm also amazed by the technology. Amazing of the studio incredibly.

Yeah, it's pretty cool. It's fun. It's a fun. Oh you want to see something cool? Hold on, So we have these screens in here and we can change them to be Oh, there's.

Me baby, hot sauce.

That's me sauce on the side. That's the name of the podcast, by the way, did you know that?

Yeah, the name of this podcasting you do.

I banned you and mom, Mom do you? Mom told me you guys listen sometimes together.

You know.

What I find out is what she tells me. Yeah, you said, and not by watching.

So the only reason I banned you guys, and by ban no, no, but this is you have to This is my reasoning. So everybody knows. I think Indian kids, first generation Indian kids, we all have double lives. We have our regular life and then we have the lives our parents think we lead. I think I've blurred those lines a lot more than most Indian kids have, because most of them just have completely double lives. Separate, you know. I mean again, we have the life that we live,

Then I said, those are like that.

I guess so.

But I always say, Mom, I got this far doing it the way that I'm doing it. I'm not going to change it now she thinks I make fun of myself.

Are off the podcast?

No, No, we're recording.

I mean we're recording.

Why what were you going to say, Mom?

Go ahead, No, I don't want to be killed.

So.

Fair enough. Yeah, okay, So back to the questions from listeners. Things that they want to know what was or are some of your favorite childhood memories of me of you?

Yeah, there are quite a few. One of my earliest, not earliest, but most poignant memories was when Wiley came to the house for a party and he's a big guy. Yeah, and I told him, you know, maya could fit into your shoe. And he started roaring with laughter and he said, keim running to I don't know what your dad said.

Let me tell you. Dad. If I we had a dollar for the amount of times people said do you know what your dad said? I would be so rich. I have no doubt that. After Elvis walked out of this room, he went and told everybody out there about our conversation. Old everybody.

But the other other memory I have is when we're staying in that apartment.

We're in South Florida in North.

North Northtown apartments in Columbus, Ohio. Yeah. Yeah, you came one day and you were kind of crying, and you were you had come running home and I had looked out and you were running home yelling at some kids, saying wait till I grow up, I'll kill you. Oh, and then you came home. He had kind of been rough with you. He was word three times a side.

Yeah, he was like twelve, and I think I was like five or six.

If you looked like he was twenty one. Okay, But anyway, you came home and you asked me a question, not that day, but the next day. I think, so, Dad, what happens if someone if you throw a banana peel in front of somebody? And I said, boy, they'll slip and fall. Well, a few days went by and I was pulling in home from work and a whole bunch of your friends came running up to my car and said, mister Gandhi, mister Ghandhi, you know what made that is?

I'm a descendant, not a disciple.

Exactly right, exactly, So.

That is actually another question. First of all, I think if I would have told that story and told people I threw a banana peel at someone and made him fall and crack his head. Nobody would have believed it. So I'm glad that you relate the stories. Yes, absolutely, because I think a lot of things just seem unbelievable, but if you hear them from another person, maybe more believable. So one of the other questions was what do you think Gandhi g would think of both of us, of

Know what he would think. But I know one thing he would appreciate that we are both following what we want, not trying to be blind disciples of him like many of his other relatives are. I don't believe in derived glory. The glory has to be ours. We have to earn our own way. Just because I'm born as his grandson doesn't mean that or great grandson. It doesn't mean that I have to follow everything he says. Sure, like you said,

I don't agree with that at all. I think, even though you will always say you raised us with benign neglect and that's why we turned out the way that we did, I think you guys played such a key integral role in the way that we are in taking personal accountability for things and following through with things and not quitting. You guys didn't let us watch TV forever, and I'm really happy at this point in my life. I'm happy that you didn't.

I'm thankful that you think that way. But you know, to expand a little bit, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs both banned their kids from being near any screen device until they were twelve years old. That included television, that included iPads, that included anything that had a screen. They were smart enough to know what it can do to children. Yeah, a child learns best by doing, not by sitting on a sofa and playing with a machine that has nothing to do with the real world very little. And you're

Sure, But I'm glad that you guys did those things. I really am. And I'm glad that you made us, even though I hated it at the time. You always made us do extra homework, especially in summertime. You didn't like that school just stopped for that amount of time, so you gave us your own homework and we had to write two to four essays every single day before we could go out and do anything. And I'll tell you what, Dad, I'm pretty good at Jeopardy now because of that. Because of that.

And on the homework side and all. I have to give mom the credit because she did a lot more of that than I did. And when I think of how much time she spent with you guys, taking your gymnastics and all these things while not becoming a soccer mom speaks well for her too. Yeah, you have to give the devil the credit.

Yes, you call him on the devil.

Yes, because I'm senior DEVI.

Okay, yes, the two of you together a pair of Satans. One of the things I also really appreciate that you guys did for us was instill And I've said this on the show so many times and they say it too. Your lack of planning is not my emergency.

That I believe in one I know.

But let me tell you, as a little kid, that's a pain in the ass, because how many kids are really planning? Kids don't plan their kids.

However, you planned very well how to make our lives miserable? Oh? Did I very well? Plant out?

Oh you're miserable. This is you being miserable. Yes, yeah, right, you look so tortured. Oh my god, I hope you get.

Just telling me that you're surprised that I look like a ninety year old guy. Yeah, I'm only seventies.

Let me tell you something, Dad, you don't have one wrinkle. I don't know how it's possible. There's not a wrinkle on that damn head. But you've given everyone else wrinkles, and I need to know how it happened.

The wrinkles I gave you guys made you look better.

How do you not have wrinkles? You laugh all day long, you laugh all the time, you have a good time. Not a wrinkle. I'm looking at you right now, no one.

Well, that's because they're not looking well now.

I can see.

Please, I've got a wrinkled head.

Please. Anyway, what is something that always makes you think of me?

Think of you? Yeah? I have to keep coming back to the fact that, because it is a very very important thing that from the youngest days of your life you thought differently from most people. What I thought of you as being retarded was actually you being very different, Okay, And that difference today is blossomed into who you are. And I remember in school, wherever you went, you're a swarm of kids behind you, like mosquitoes after a guy

She's awesome. I will say I would like to apologize to you, a mom, because, as you said in a very nice way, I was not necessarily the perfect kid when it came to school. You guys spent a lot of times coming in and talking to principals or teachers or whomever because I was a little naughty, which is actually one of the other questions. What were some of the mischievous or naughty things that you can remember about me growing up?

Mischievous things? Uh, you know it's funny. Mom and I were talking a few weeks ago about you guys and how kids were getting into all this kind of trouble. We know people whose kids got into trouble of a very terrible kind, like what drugs, alcohol? Some of them are into prostitution.

What you guys have friends who have hookers for kids?

Not when they were young. At that age, we didn't think they were prostitutes. But I should say lose people and I won't name any names.

Hello, you get beep talking.

I invited Diamond and in case she had one question for you, Oh yeah, yeah, but no, no, no, finish what you're saying. So you mom, were talking.

Yeah, And I can remember some of the unfortunate things, especially when we moved Florida and you told me you wanted some money from your savings account that you had built up very well to help out two guys who had been unfortunately arrested, and to give them the bail money. Yep. And I remember telling you may that get ready to lose your money and your friends yep. And you said no, no, no, no,

Yeah.

I'll never build anyone out of jail again. Want and done.

Yeah, yeah, just kidding at you. To bail people out of jail, you need to revise your friends.

Happens that it happened.

So.

That I remember. There were unfortunate incidences, but nothing that I could say made us regret.

You have no regrets, none for you guys. Let me tell you this. I've said this to Diamond before too. Most of the people that I know now who have kids, including my friends, they're like all of my kids, and they're cool. But if I could do it again, I wouldn't no.

No, no. If the only regret I have is the way I was and I would do things differently today, what would I do differently? I was tough with you guys, tyrant, but in some ways I was brutal. Yes, now, in India that would not have been considered out of the way at all.

I tell them all the time, Indian parents are crazy breed.

I believe the love is very different. And I'm sorry to say, I don't intend to offend any Americans, but to just put a little placard out there saying we love our kids drove slowly doesn't cut it. If you really love your kids, you should be involved in them all the time, involved with them in every aspect of their lives, without trying to dictate. I never saw that in many American parents, and that's why we today have the problem. And I'm sorry. I don't mean to be

Oh, I'm sure we'll get some criticism on this podcast. I can't wait, Diamond, I asked you earlier. So, Diamond, Dad, Diamond, Diamond, Dad, you met her downstairs.

She walked you up.

I don't know how I would do a lot of things without her, specifically this podcast. That beeping, Diamond just wondered what it was. It's a blood monitor for sugar. Yes, someone went to krispy Kreme.

You went to Krispy Kreme. Yes, yes, okay.

There are times my legs are not under my control, just like my car is not.

Oh that's true.

Driving by a Krispy Kream. The steering will suddenly turns. Cannot control it.

That, you know what, Dad, That also happens when you're not driving by Krispy Kreme and you just hit curbs only He said, okay, so I feel like you'll appreciate this time, and then you can ask your question or if you have a question. So my dad, my sister and I tell my mom and dad all the time, like we just want to hire you guys a driver, Like, let's just get you guys a driver. Because he says, he says this, I don't say this. I've been in the car and I experienced it. He says, he drives

Yeah, I just go by the sound. But I hear somebody going, ah, somebody, Okay.

This is my father.

A couple curves have met their maker from things hit.

The cars have kept going, and.

That is the important part. Yeah, I won't bring up all of the things. But Diamond, did you have any questions for my dad?

I just want to know what she was like as a child. Oh, there you go.

She was like as a child.

Yeah, what was she like as a child?

Well, if you look closely. There are two stubs of horns on her head.

Yeah yeah, one two.

Stubs of horns, and I had to chop them off. Luckily they've stopped growing again.

And you're saying I was a Satanic child. Satanic Satanic child as.

A child, she was truly, Seriously, I was just telling her that earlier, and I'm afraid I'm repeating myself here. She was a cut from a different cloth. She had a different view. People would look at something, she would look at it and have a completely different perspective on it. So after a while I realized it's best to leave her alone because that perspective will grow into a nice person. At the end of it all.

You think she's a nice person, she's a competent person.

Wow, dad, Well an honest critic, we have one here.

Now. We know we love her that I will say, you.

Know, I never doubt that you love me.

I will tell you that we butt heads on many things.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, we go at it.

But that's what it's all about. Yeah, if two people think the same way all the time, only one is doing the thinking. Okay, it's an old problem. So we seldom agree on manythings. So she was always a different kid from the beginning. And you will notice that people who tend to think differently are not cut out for school because school school regiments you. H Okay, and I don't mean to put Mesa in the same class because I think she does belong there. But Albert Einstein kicked

Okay, you can put me in that class.

I'm go on, that's a parent who did it, but I do. Steve Jobs, if you want, go back and watch his his commencement speech. I think it was the University of San Diego somewhere. He talks precisely about that originality. See, a creative person sees possibilities where others cannot. So you and I might see, see this little technology piece and sow the buttons here, This switch is there, wonderful. Steve Jobs would look at it and say, how can I

No, I think we're ordinary.

That's why we need to tell them, Hey, there's bullshit. There's not going to work. If a creative person doesn't have that kind of person with them, they often end up going way off the rails.

Oh thank god I had all of you.

That you need.

I have two questions. I don't know which one you did. You did kind of the first one. Did you give her spankings as a child?

Yes?

Absolutely, see, this is what I'm talking about. Did you put her over the lap and spank her? Or did you grab the hand and let her try to run away and spank? Which one combinations? She seems like a kid who needed and asked. I'm just saying, oh, I'm so sorry to somebody's dad.

I just thought about that. Oh my god.

Did you even hear what she said? Did you even hear what she said? Yeah, that's okay, you're okay, okay, speaking of that.

What's your favorite curse word?

My favorite? Yeah? I don't even think.

Of Let me tell you what. This is a plot to us, because I will say this, I don't ever really hear my dad cursing. He they grew up speaking like the English that they learned is kind of British English. So he says bloody, like that's the worst thing that I've heard him say, is like this bloody idiot. You know, but I don't. I don't really hear you curse that often publicly. I don't hear you curse privately. You curse in your head.

No, I don't say that.

You don't say that. Okay, use it on. There's some interesting stuff about you. He really doesn't curse. He'll say, he'll say things that are like it should have been a curse word, but instead like George Carlin, Yes, he loves a good comedy show. I never really saw him like fawning over women or even acting like, you know, like I do. I always say he looks at food the way I think most men look at women, like like if a nice dosa walks by, he's like, what was that?

You know. Muslims they believe in going to heaven and they get seventy two virgins. Yes, that's their philosophy. I formerly believe when I go to heaven, I have seventy two waitress waitress coming. It's all.

He wants it all. He cares about the only two people I ever even heard him say, were pretty? Were Aliyah and Whitney Houston? You would if I showed you her picture, you recognize her. She was a singer. She died in like the very early two thousands. But you were walking by one day and you saw her in a music video and you said, huh was she might have been on a horse at some point. I don't know. It was a music video. It was the Rock the Boat music video.

It was the Rock the Boat. I know.

You just never say it. He doesn't care about anything.

It's like because you know, no, No, that's not why I think looks are fleeting. You know, so many of I have seen so many times the most beautiful women ending up looking the ugliest old women. At the other way around too. I have seen in my school in Indiana really good looking guys whose parents were ugliest. Sin. That's how mother nature works. Nobody knows how it works, you know. So to me, looks are a passing glory.

Okay, I have one last question, but you have to speak into the microphone.

Okay, can you hear me? Now?

Yeah, I can. I can hear you the whole time, but it's not yeah yeah, all right. So everybody here knows I don't want to get married. They would like to know how you feel about that.

Well, I've passed your word on to a lot of people, have you, and they've adopted your philosophy that marriage is a scam by the government to take your money, but the other person and them are non lunatic asylum.

So how do you feel about it? By the way, the Diamond calls me allatic all the time.

I think she's a lunatic for sure.

Excellent. How do you feel about that?

The choice is yours and we have I certainly have no problem with.

It, all right.

I feel like that's a good note to end on. Is there anything you wanted to say you wanted to add?

The only thing I want to add is I hope those who are viewing this podcast view it with the same sense of bluntness and honesty that we've both engaged in. And if you don't, my apologies, but I hope you had a good time.

That was nice. Thanks Dad for joining me. I appreciate it.

Thank you for having me on any time, Diamond for your questions.

All right, by, goodbye, and there we go.

That is my father, Ladies and gentlemen. When they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I beg to differ. I think I rolled down a hill. But other people are like, oh my god, you guys are just alike. No, I wouldn't use these words.

No.

I think you guys are just to like, oh my god, we look alike.

That's terrifying. Let me tell you rules.

Stop. I just want to cuddle the both of you.

Oh, you got a meetings and you want Let's see, we are way past the limit of episodes that I thought we were ever gonna do for like this year. I think I'm supposed to do thirty maybe or thirty five or something like that, and we're like, way, way way past it. So should I just stop? Should keep going? Do I go out on a high note or a low note with this podcast?

I think you should keep going? Oh okay, yeah, keep rolling.

I think I've told before our highest rated episodes are when we just kind of shoot the shit together, either you and me, you me and Andrew, You me Andrew and Josh, those are the ones that people seem to like the best. And I think maybe for the next episode we'll do something like that.

Oh wow, I love it.

Yeah, buddy, Okay, if people want to find you, where do they find you?

Diamond at Diamond Sincere on Instagram and I am at.

Baby Hot Sauce on Instagram. And if you're trying to find my dad, you never will because he doesn't subscribe to any type of social media because he thinks the government's watching him. I'm not kidding real quick. He he.

Did.

He stay in thatdicone. He won't use his hearing aids even though he can't hear shit, because he thinks that the government's going to tap into his hearing aids and like safing.

Oh my god.

Meanwhile, I'm like, it's better than you hear nothing. Yeah, oh love of God.

Oh my god. I love this man.

He's great. Love him too. He's just a bit of a liability alright, until next time, say bye bye.

Mm hmm.