Broken Melodies explores the complex and nuanced relationship that exists between mother and daughter, and furthermore, the thread between motherhood and migration. Migration is often seen as a means to fulfill dreams for their children. Much like birds, mothers prepare their young ones for flight – one day we must leave for a better life abroad.
We grow to believe that true success and freedom lie outside the confines of our home. Instead, we are uprooted and planted in a space that is foreign and lonely, far away from those closest to us.
This story is one that my mother and sister share. Growing up in a mixed household brings about generational differences and uncertainties in one’s cultural identity. There is a constant feeling of friction and fraction that only deepens in unfamiliar lands. While their relationship will be a continuous ebb and flow, distance pulls them close in many ways that they may not be aware of. Culture is all that remains – preserving this sustains a connection not only with ourselves but with our mother.