The Adventures of the Little Indian Girl

A long time ago, I had a FAQ of questions I get about my country of birth (mostly out of amusement). I should add this one: What's your favourite Indian curry?

I never know how to answer this one. I absolutely love curry - you know the impression the British Raj had of South Asian food and spread across the world. Absolutely delicious. This generic spice mix they make a gravy of and then put different meats and call it curry? Tikka-Masala - oh yum!

But I also understand that for many they believe curry is all that we eat in India. But that's an impression of food from one state in India - Punjab. Personally, I don't take offense. I guess the Punjabis should, because I have tried their home made versions and boy are we missing out! I just don't know how to answer that question. Because, well, like many of us born and raised in India, we never would have heard the term curry being used.

So, next time you see someone from India, don't ask them about their favourite curry...or don't get puzzled at their hesitation of giving an answer.

ETA: This post is more of humour than anything. A lot of our food has great influences from the Moguls brought over from what is today Middle East/Persia... so yeah.

Over the course of the decades living abroad I have had so many strange people (yes, strange people who were also strangers) randomly yell a "namaste" to show off their Indian speaking abilities (usually they are also the people who think all Indians speak Indian and are not aware that we have 15 official languages, and English is not one of them). I have learnt to politely smile and say a hello and walk on. If there was one thing my parents taught me, and my community did it was to be polite and courteous.

But you don't yell a namaste. It's wrong. It's not done. You see the namaste slowly disappearing in India as the "Hi!"s and handshakes take over. It's often (in the cities) seen as something backward and un-modern thing to do. I seem to catch the elders by surprise sometimes when I do a namaste!

This morning as I was running into my class my yoga teacher was getting her cup of black tea. She stopped, put her cup down and did the most sincere, genuine namaskar that I have not seen even an Indian do in the longest of times. It stopped me dead in my tracks and I reciprocated.

If done right, it's unbelievably calming, it helps you bring yourself together, to focus on one thing, the being in front of you. It also makes you put away your smartphones and whatever other modern gadgets that interrupt most everyone's conversations these days! ;)

We were brought up on campus to say namastes to all uncles and aunties. No shortcuts allowed, although we occasionally snuck away with it. Even today when I see the uncles and aunties I stop and do a proper namaste. As we grew up and in the west, it's turned into a nod of the head/a quick bow (like gentleman just touching the tip of his hat) with a spoken namaste.

I am not all religious and all but spiritually I see it as a way to acknowledge finding the other person important and valued. It shares some positive vibes and I can still feel that wonderful energy from the teacher, her smile, her warmth, and her welcome!

A few days ago I skipped a headline that for the first time in a long time an American has won the NYC marathon! yay! It took me back to Honolulu where the marathon winners were always some former Olympic runners who happened to be African! So, I just thought, yay! for the change and moved on with life. I never looked into to see who the winner was or anything. I just admire people who run and finish marathons whether they come in first or last is least of importance to me.

Earlier today Cottontimer made a post on her facebook, linking to the following article - To Some, Winner Is Not American Enough. I liked her post she made. Maybe she will post it up on her blog too! 

But I have seen this so much even in other countries. How Malaysia idolised the Australian Idol winner, because the Australian who won the show was of Malaysian origin. I don't think the Malaysian Idol winner got as much attention (although I am not sure if Malaysia Idol had started then!)! How the American astronaut was revelled in India because of her Indian roots.

My in-laws do it too. Whenever we run into anyone who looks Indian, they are Indians, even if they have grown up in the US and even say they are Americans, that part is never acknowledged. They see Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN, or the Louisiana Governor, or the Indian doctor at the clinic, they are all Indians for them, even though the Doctor informs us that he never lived in India and was born and raised here by parents who are from India. And yet, when they read such articles they jump and say how can you say there is such a thing as "true-American" when it's a land of immigrants. ummmm....

Even with me, my FIL constantly emphasises that I am Indian, I should represent the country well. I can never tell him that I don't really feel 100% Indian. I guess we relate with things we are familiar with in this crazy unknown world.

I myself remember feeling thrown off being in Hawaii, when locals who looked Asian acted so very much American. I was surprised at myself even after living in a multicultural atmosphere for a lot of my life.  It took me a long while to reconcile those prejudices I had deep in me. Of course, by the time I got that adjusted, I moved to Malaysia, where I had to again readjust that they are Asian Asians!! (It was mostly the accents that used to throw me off!)

What I also see missing in the article is what does the runner think? What does he identify himself as? Or is he one like some of us, who dread the question of, "where are you from?"