The year this tree was planted, it bore no fruit. It was a wee sapling purchased from a Lowes or Home Depot, most likely of the Brown Turkey variety, selected by my father, a lover of figs.

For my family, chai is the elixir of life. It is had at least twice a day and offered to all who enter our home. And for most of my life, I have consumed it within the walls of my home in Tennessee and Bombay, knowing it to be a lasting testament of my Gujarati heritage.

While breakfast anchors my grandfather’s day, it anchors my family to a place and people oceans away.