Writing in this blog has made me realize that I am much more proud of my culture than I thought I was. I love being Indian and it truly makes me happy to write about it.
Although each post may not have been the most positive, I think India is an amazing country. Of course, there are some things that they can work on, but what country doesn't have room for improvement?
I was able to relive my experiences and memories by sharing them on this blog.
I would like to end this blog by saying that every culture needs to be appreciated. We shouldn't judge people based on stereotypes or how they look. Or what we "think" they are like.
I remember one December, my parents went to clean my old church. It was only two minutes away from house, so it wouldn't be of any inconvenience to us. My parents got there and there were some real nasty words spray painted on the door. Rude words about Indians. The police came and investigated this, but we never found out who did it. But who decides to graffiti the door of a church? Especially with horrible words. And about a specific race. Whoever did this obviously don't know what we are like. They've probably just seen us outside the church, wearing our Indian clothes and decided to judge us. Everyone was really upset and offended. I'm not just saying this because I'm Indian. This would be a horrible thing to do to any race.
I'm sure it is going to take a long time, but there needs to be a day where all countries are united. Everyone should feel like they belong in America. No one should be judged on the color of their skin, their culture or the religion they practice.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
India Gay Sex Ruling
The latest news in India is how the government took a "giant step back" in regards to same-sex relationships.
The supreme court has found that this offense is punished by ten years in prison. Ten years in prison for being gay.
I'm not quite sure how that makes sense and I certainly don't agree with it. Why is it okay to throw people in jail because of their sexuality. They're not doing harm to anyone. If anything, it's the anti-homosexuals that mob and attack the people of same-sex relationships.
The fact that the government can judge a person based on their personal lives is unfair. If a constitution says each personal should be treated equally, why do these stupid laws exist?
This is a touchy subject in almost every country. As America begins to make same-sex marriage legal in many states, India is putting more of a strain on the topic.
I think the Supreme Court of India has to rethink this order. I'm one of those people that believe others should be able to live their lives however they want, as long as they're not causing harm to anyone else.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25329067
The supreme court has found that this offense is punished by ten years in prison. Ten years in prison for being gay.
I'm not quite sure how that makes sense and I certainly don't agree with it. Why is it okay to throw people in jail because of their sexuality. They're not doing harm to anyone. If anything, it's the anti-homosexuals that mob and attack the people of same-sex relationships.
The fact that the government can judge a person based on their personal lives is unfair. If a constitution says each personal should be treated equally, why do these stupid laws exist?
This is a touchy subject in almost every country. As America begins to make same-sex marriage legal in many states, India is putting more of a strain on the topic.
I think the Supreme Court of India has to rethink this order. I'm one of those people that believe others should be able to live their lives however they want, as long as they're not causing harm to anyone else.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25329067
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Education in India vs. America- First Hand experience
I have a close friend named Joby who is a student here at Rutgers-Newark. He moved to America from India ten years ago. He spent 13 years in India and I thought that he definitely experienced enough of education in America to compare and contrast. I thought I would ask him some quick question about the difference in education.
Me: Where did you like school better, here or India?
Joby:India
Me: Why?
Joby: I like India because I understand the teachers better there. I like that we focused more on math than other stuff. I liked that we never had to leave the classroom. The teachers of each subject would come to the classroom and leave after their lesson of the day. I also liked that the cafeterias would serve different Indian foods and snacks.
Me: Why do you want to focus on math so much?
Joby: Because that's the subject we learned the most when we were younger. We focused on it the most, so it became my favorite.
Me: What is the biggest difference you noticed?
Joby: Kids are rude here. Much more disciplined there. We were more scared of our teachers than our parents.
I understood from this conversation that India and America have very different education systems. Teachers are highly esteemed in India, and that's not quite the case in America. In India, math is deeply focused on, while each subject is given equal amount of importance in America.There are clearly different values and morals being taught, but I think both countries have space to improve.
Me: Where did you like school better, here or India?
Joby:India
Me: Why?
Joby: I like India because I understand the teachers better there. I like that we focused more on math than other stuff. I liked that we never had to leave the classroom. The teachers of each subject would come to the classroom and leave after their lesson of the day. I also liked that the cafeterias would serve different Indian foods and snacks.
Me: Why do you want to focus on math so much?
Joby: Because that's the subject we learned the most when we were younger. We focused on it the most, so it became my favorite.
Me: What is the biggest difference you noticed?
Joby: Kids are rude here. Much more disciplined there. We were more scared of our teachers than our parents.
I understood from this conversation that India and America have very different education systems. Teachers are highly esteemed in India, and that's not quite the case in America. In India, math is deeply focused on, while each subject is given equal amount of importance in America.There are clearly different values and morals being taught, but I think both countries have space to improve.
English in India
When I was looking through the blog lists we were required to read for class, the title "Black Girl Dangerous" was the first one to catch my eye. It was a blog of many different authors that wrote about their life experiences.
As I looked through the list of authors, I came across the name Chithira Vijayakumar. "Hmmm, sounds Indian," I thought to myself. As I opened up her latest blog post, the first line read "I learnt to read Malayalam the easy way: by lying on my grandmother’s stomach, brown skin painted with the silverfish of my mother’s and my uncle’s births. By listening to her read the daily newspapers out to me." Let me just say, when I saw the word "Malayalam" in the first few words of this post, my eyes grew wide with excitement. I couldn't believe there was a Malayalee blogger, that I was able to visualize all the places she was talking about. She was from Kerala, which also got me super excited.
Her blog was about learning English there in Kerala. India was taken over by British rule for many years. Even after Indians gained their independence, they required English to be a language that was taught in all schools. Vijayakumar's blog taught me that this was still existent. I really didn't know that this was required in Kerala, because my dad went to grade school there and doesn't know much English.
She writes of how there was a rule that no student could speak Malayalam in the school, or they would get fined. I found this absurd. Why wouldn't you be able to speak the language of your state? Did they want the language to fade? I figured keeping the language alive would also keep the culture rich.
I was shocked to see that this rule still exists in India. Students are fined even more than in the past if they even mutter a single Malayalam word.
I personally think this is such a dumb rule. It's not bad that they want the students to learn English, I feel as though it is kind of necessary. But it should be taught as a second language. Here in elementary school, we were taught Spanish. But they didn't force us to know it for the rest of our lives. I think it is beneficial to know more than one language but this rule is taking it a bit too far.
http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/11/tongues/
As I looked through the list of authors, I came across the name Chithira Vijayakumar. "Hmmm, sounds Indian," I thought to myself. As I opened up her latest blog post, the first line read "I learnt to read Malayalam the easy way: by lying on my grandmother’s stomach, brown skin painted with the silverfish of my mother’s and my uncle’s births. By listening to her read the daily newspapers out to me." Let me just say, when I saw the word "Malayalam" in the first few words of this post, my eyes grew wide with excitement. I couldn't believe there was a Malayalee blogger, that I was able to visualize all the places she was talking about. She was from Kerala, which also got me super excited.
Her blog was about learning English there in Kerala. India was taken over by British rule for many years. Even after Indians gained their independence, they required English to be a language that was taught in all schools. Vijayakumar's blog taught me that this was still existent. I really didn't know that this was required in Kerala, because my dad went to grade school there and doesn't know much English.
She writes of how there was a rule that no student could speak Malayalam in the school, or they would get fined. I found this absurd. Why wouldn't you be able to speak the language of your state? Did they want the language to fade? I figured keeping the language alive would also keep the culture rich.
I was shocked to see that this rule still exists in India. Students are fined even more than in the past if they even mutter a single Malayalam word.
I personally think this is such a dumb rule. It's not bad that they want the students to learn English, I feel as though it is kind of necessary. But it should be taught as a second language. Here in elementary school, we were taught Spanish. But they didn't force us to know it for the rest of our lives. I think it is beneficial to know more than one language but this rule is taking it a bit too far.
http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/11/tongues/
Cricket!
Cricket is definitely one of the most popular sports in India. It was brought to country by the British, when they ruled over India. It's common to see children playing almost every neighborhood you walk through. I guess you could say it's the equivalent of baseball in America.
Cricket is a game that consists of a bat and ball. Summed up by Wikipedia the sport is: "played between two teams of eleven players each. One team bats, attempting to score runs, while the other bowls and fields the ball, attempting to restrict the scoring and dismiss the batsmen. The objective of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent. In some forms of cricket, it may also be necessary to dismiss the opposition in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn."
One of the greatest cricket players of all time from India, Sachin Tendulkar, recently retired. He was highly praised by his fans, some even calling the "God of Cricket." He's been the first of many achievements, playing for the Mumbai and India team for almost 24 years. He began around the age of 16, making him able to retire at the age of 40. The reason he retired was because he had to go through tennis elbow surgery. He figured he would not be able to play the same again. Sachin Tendulkar has won so many awards, including the Man of the Match award numerous times.
He is known as the record-breaking cricketer of India. Tendulkar has been an important part of not only cricket, but also India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket#Summary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achievements_of_Sachin_Tendulkar
Cricket is a game that consists of a bat and ball. Summed up by Wikipedia the sport is: "played between two teams of eleven players each. One team bats, attempting to score runs, while the other bowls and fields the ball, attempting to restrict the scoring and dismiss the batsmen. The objective of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent. In some forms of cricket, it may also be necessary to dismiss the opposition in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn."
One of the greatest cricket players of all time from India, Sachin Tendulkar, recently retired. He was highly praised by his fans, some even calling the "God of Cricket." He's been the first of many achievements, playing for the Mumbai and India team for almost 24 years. He began around the age of 16, making him able to retire at the age of 40. The reason he retired was because he had to go through tennis elbow surgery. He figured he would not be able to play the same again. Sachin Tendulkar has won so many awards, including the Man of the Match award numerous times.
He is known as the record-breaking cricketer of India. Tendulkar has been an important part of not only cricket, but also India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket#Summary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achievements_of_Sachin_Tendulkar
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Christmas Carol
One of my favorite parts about being an Indian Orthodox Christian, is how we celebrate the holidays. When I think back to my childhood, Christmas caroling is definitely one of the highlights.
For many people, when they think of Christmas carols, they just think of a bunch of people going door to door singing the most popular Christmas songs there are.
But no, we do it totally different. We go house to house, but it's only houses of the members of the church (no strangers). We sing songs that are upbeat and about Christmas and most of them are in Malayalam. They are a few boys playing the drums, some older men playing the tambourines, and everyone else clapping and singing. I remember as a child, we would start around 3 pm and end at 1 am. No matter how tired we were, we would want to keep going. My parents would try to get me to stay home on Sundays but I wouldn't have it. There's actually been times where I didn't go to school on Monday because I was to busy out caroling the night before. In each house there would always be a group of people who liked to dance and clap to the songs everyone was singing. If it was a favorite song, everyone would get involved. Some houses served snacks and drinks because we grew very tiresome after a few songs. It's really something people of all ages enjoy at my church. Even the car ride from one house to another was always fun. Each group of friends would cram into one car, tell stories and sing songs. It was full of laughter and I could only remember being so happy during these times.
My church still does carol, but my friends and I can't go as often because we're in college and it's right around finals time. To me, it really doesn't feel like Christmas unless I go caroling with my church. They're like my second family and we all get along so well. Luckily for me, my finals are done just before the last weekend of caroling!
Me vs. Rej
I figured I should ask one of my friends about why they don't like going to India as much as I do. The first person that came into mind was my friend, Rejeena (I like to call her Rej). The funny thing is, I'm pretty sure she has gone to India a lot more than I have. So I decided to ask her a few questions that I was curious about.
Me: How many times have you been to India?
Rej: About 5-7 times
Me: Do you look forward to going whenever your parents have booked the tickets?
Rej: No, of course not! I hate it. I already have the mindset that I'm not going to have any fun. I'm not used to the technology, or should I say lack thereof. My mom's house has no wifi. The electricity goes out exactly at 8 pm every single day. Roosters and chicken wake me up at 6 am. I have to wait for water to boil on this stove made of a pile of sticks burning because the shower there produces no hot water. And it's superhot and I get at least five mosquito bites a day. I seriously look forward to sleeping every night because when I wake up, I'm one day closer to being home.
Me: Do you have a lot of family to spend time with there?
Rej: Yeah, I usually go for my cousins' weddings. All of my mom's side lives in India, and some of my dad's uncles and children live there, too.
Me: What do you think of the 18 hours of travel just to get to India?
Rej: I don't mind the travel because that means less time in India
Me: Is there anything else you want to add?
Rej: Well, when I'm in New Jersey, I never have time to be home. I'm always running around, meeting up with friends, it's weird not being around that in India. I don't know what to talk to my cousins about and I can hardly speak the language so we have a barrier. We do somehow manage to have fun. They're really patient with me and we all just laugh at each other and act stupid.
Me: What do you think of India as a whole?
Rej: Well minus my cousins, I feel like a tourist in India. I feel like everyone is just staring and in the back of my mind I'm freaking out because I think someone is going to steal from us.
Well, I think this gives a little insight as to why some American Born Indians might not like going to India. Technology is really different there. Wifi is not as easy to find in Kerala, and people in this generation seriously depend on it. There's also a language barrier that might make it difficult for some people to communicate. Overall, I think these are all problems that can be solved!
Me: How many times have you been to India?
Rej: About 5-7 times
Me: Do you look forward to going whenever your parents have booked the tickets?
Rej: No, of course not! I hate it. I already have the mindset that I'm not going to have any fun. I'm not used to the technology, or should I say lack thereof. My mom's house has no wifi. The electricity goes out exactly at 8 pm every single day. Roosters and chicken wake me up at 6 am. I have to wait for water to boil on this stove made of a pile of sticks burning because the shower there produces no hot water. And it's superhot and I get at least five mosquito bites a day. I seriously look forward to sleeping every night because when I wake up, I'm one day closer to being home.
Me: Do you have a lot of family to spend time with there?
Rej: Yeah, I usually go for my cousins' weddings. All of my mom's side lives in India, and some of my dad's uncles and children live there, too.
Me: What do you think of the 18 hours of travel just to get to India?
Rej: I don't mind the travel because that means less time in India
Me: Is there anything else you want to add?
Rej: Well, when I'm in New Jersey, I never have time to be home. I'm always running around, meeting up with friends, it's weird not being around that in India. I don't know what to talk to my cousins about and I can hardly speak the language so we have a barrier. We do somehow manage to have fun. They're really patient with me and we all just laugh at each other and act stupid.
Me: What do you think of India as a whole?
Rej: Well minus my cousins, I feel like a tourist in India. I feel like everyone is just staring and in the back of my mind I'm freaking out because I think someone is going to steal from us.
Well, I think this gives a little insight as to why some American Born Indians might not like going to India. Technology is really different there. Wifi is not as easy to find in Kerala, and people in this generation seriously depend on it. There's also a language barrier that might make it difficult for some people to communicate. Overall, I think these are all problems that can be solved!
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