Your background Jamesworth regarding your mother is so familiar to circumstances in my personal life. I was adopted into Hinduism when 8 years old and then many yeaes later when about 14 there was a neighbor next door, a boy who became a friend (I would show him pictures of Ganapati). Anyway, before I had any interaction with his mother it became clear she was already some sort of influence on her son regarding "Eastern Religions".
She could be observed through the front living room window, or in the backyard, in lotus position and doing yoga. It was clear to everyone all around - and she was as popular a lady on the block as the next. I didn't have to tell my new friend about Hanuman, amazingly right here in suburbia America in California his mother already did!
This family next door was Caucasian, I only say that so that someone might not think them from India. Nor am I from India for that matter.
So I mention the neighbor next door because it reminds me of you. And that this sort of thing is more common than known.
BY THE WAY ... if you plan to go to India, a good first time would be Varanasi known as Kashi. All representation of Hinduism is there , all 330 million "Gods" too, and Ganga (Ganges) is there. Read about it. It will probably make you more enthusiastic to go. But also prepare yourself. Prepare yourself.
_____
UPDATE and LOL - my God, it wouldn't surprise me if you WERE that boy next door but you are probably too young. Is your last name Griffin? Probably not, sorry, but it seems I keep running into scores of people I knew in the past, I even try to avoid them in most cases (LOL) as they come searching for me relentlessly, and my wife doesn't like that and especially any old associate who also has a "white" female lurking since she considers any "white" female of low moral character Hindu or not (my wife is Indian, she also doesn't like me posting anything anymore, she thinks I am "addicted" to it and most of the time it is a secret agent job these days though I have been doing this internet forum thing for only 3 years now). Once on another forum some Professor lady was being attacked for some book on Hinduism she wrote, then soon later I realized this was the same lady I perchance spoke with in Varanasi. And once in Delhi, two nice Indian girls in salwar kameez and spike heeled shoes holding an microphone and a T.V. camera come rushing over to me in Connaught Circle and start interviewing me about what I think about things such as Delhi and India. Then one day long after, there is one of the two in Vancouver Canada, she was working a staff job for a Vancouver local T.V. station I was taken in to visit by another Canadian who wanted to impress me with their "media connected world" or something like that. The world is a small place, sorry for asking if you are the same person.
