Why does Smita feel tender towards India when remembering the marigolds tied around the oxen's horns?

There is a moment when Smita remembers the marigolds tied around the oxen's horns, and it makes her feel tender toward India. Why?

Because it took her back to her youth and the things about her youth that were positive, beautiful and happy.

I think whenever we have positive memories of our past, brought to the present by a current reminder, it does bring tenderness about the past. It is comforting to remember good things and I am guessing this is why Smita felt tender toward India when she remembered the marigolds.

The marigolds reminded her of a positive time in her childhood in India. She'd known love and friendship from her neighborhood until the criticism of her father's writings. There were positives in her childhood, which the marigolds represented.

The marigolds were a happy memory of her childhood in India for which there were a few and this gave her positive feelings when she needed them upon her return to India.

I agree with everyone else - the marigolds were a reminder of a good time in Smita's young childhood, before she'd seen the underside of Indian life.

As someone who has moved many times, it can be the smallest scent, site, event that can trigger a softness for a place once called home. It may even be strong enough to bring about the desire to make it home again.

I agree with everyone in that the marigolds strung among the oxen’s horns triggered good memories of Smita’s childhood. Even more so, I think it touched her deep within and anchored her in (or reminded her of) her identity as an Indian woman.

This question makes me think of what I see and feel while doing volunteer work in Guaymas, Mexico. Often the poverty, the trash blowing around, the violence due to drugs and macho attitudes toward women all make me feel overwhelmed, sad, and scared that nothing will ever change. But then I see a dilapidated home where someone has swept the dirt yard and planted flowers in can or a skinny street dog that someone has managed to dress in a sweater for warmth during the winter. These small gestures fill me with hope. If we look hard enough we can find tenderness and beauty in a place we may not be expecting it. I think that Smita was reminded of that when she saw the ox with the marigold wreath.

When she saw the marigolds it broke her heart. She realized this also was her country,her birthright.

The marigolds are frequently used in India for celebrations like weddings. This flower would evoke memories related to happy times.

The little happy moments of childhood were brought back by the marigolds. To me, the fact that those feelings resurfaced was the first hint that India could help her heal from her childhood trauma.

Smita knew that there were many Indias: a place where people and animals live in harmony, where people show kindness to their working animals and decorate their horns, where people like Mohan buy food for those less fortunate and stand up for those with less power, and where honor killings take place with impunity and are celebrated.

I think the Marigolds reminded Smita of her childhood cultural identity. She had long ago been westernized by choice and her feelings for India were tainted by the experience of racism and the marginalization of her family. The Marigolds brought back happier childhood memories of the India she loved before that negative experience.

India is magnetic. And the marigolds leave an indelible impression. As I mentioned in answer to another question, even in the midst of poverty, there is just so much beauty. And that's what you remember. It is an unforgettable culture. Of all my travels, India sticks in my memory above all other places -- and I've been to most continents.

She has been remembering the bad times they had in India and not the good. The marigolds bring back some good times she had as a child. This comes as a surprise to her.