We humans have some baffling little habits, and not returning shopping carts to the stand is one for the anthropology class. It’s not because we are pressed for time. We are happy to spend forty minutes every day back and forth in our oversized minivan to go to the gym and run on a stationary treadmill for another forty minutes. But we will not spend the extra forty seconds to walk an empty shopping cart back to its rightful place.
There are a lot of grand festivals that are celebrated in India, but it is a humble one that I treasure the most. It is not Diwali with its lights, gaiety, and splendor. It is not Holi with its splash of color and joy. It is not Ganesh Chaturthi with its pomp and processions. The festival I hold most dear to my heart is Ugadi or New Year. I don’t know if it is the symbolism or meaningfulness or the family time that comes with the festival, but celebrating it is one of my greatest joys.
There is an unhealthy obsession with white skin in India. It is like a hidden disease. It infects everyone, is largely undiagnosed and by the looks of will remain uncured for a long time. Unfortunately, the over $400 skin whitening industry in India seems only too eager to play on people’s ignorance and prejudice so it can increase its line of products and profits. In 2010, AC Nielson had reported that this industry was growing annually at the rate of 18%. At a time where we are having critical conversations about tolerance, integration, and multi-culturalism, this growth of the skin whitening industry is a disturbing trend. We need strong social messaging, a conscious move by thinkers and leaders to gently move people away from this thinking. It is not impossible. But it does need all of us to come together and resist.
There are some words which carry within them entire cultures and centuries of thinking. Translating them to another language does not achieve much. It fails to convey the purport, the essence around the word. To truly do that, one would have to relate a story. The word that prefaces this story is ‘Jugaad’ – the act of creatively solving a problem, of devising a ‘hack’. It is the act of sticking a piece of paper into a battery box to push the spring and get the toy to work. It is the act of adding… Read More »A tale of Jugaad
Lately, my 5-year-old has been a bit obsessed with ‘coming first’. He has to be the first one to brush his teeth, finish breakfast, press down on the sprinkler heads in the lawn, climb into his car seat and so on.
My first experience of a St. Patrick’s Day parade in America was at Chicago in 2002/3. I was studying at the University of Notre Dame – home to the spirit of the ‘Fighting Irish’. A bunch of us decided to make a trip to Chicago to see the river turning green. The weather was crispy, the feeling electric and we gathered with hundreds others decked in various shades of green at various points along the river. A large ship traveled the length of the river mixing ~40 pounds of environmentally safe dye into the water.… Read More »For the ‘Fighting Irish’ spirit
A new immigrant in a new country has a lot to learn. The practical things are easy to master. It is the cultural differences that is the real challenge. Here’s a personal account of how an innocent invitation to Tea could get misconstrued in ‘translation’.
invitation to Tea.
Years ago when I was a child, maybe 7 years old or so, we went to a nearby park with my parents and sisters. We played in the grass, sat on the see-saw, held on tight to the merry-go-round as it furiously went round and round. After an evening of play, we nibbled on cold, sweet golas (shaved ice). It was a wonderful day – something I will always treasure. Without knowing, my parents had created a special memory for me. A refreshing spring that I could go to on any day; wet my… Read More »A Special Day
We were running some errands one weekend when I walked into a Toy store for an urgent purchase with my 4-year-old. I knew it was a mistake – going there with him – as soon as we walked in. As he reveled in his Toy heaven, I thought of “What’s in a Toy? What is it that holds the rapture for a child?”
Jan 21st, 2017 – the day of the Women’s March will go down as an important date. Half a million marchers are said to have gathered in D.C alone. Independent estimates state there were more than 3 million marchers in the US. The Women’s March website estimates there were 673 marches around 421 U.S and 200 international cities. It was probably the biggest protest march in American history. Our family of four, comprising one female and three males, also joined ranks with the numerous others to mark our solidarity with the movement. The crowds were… Read More »Why I marched
I love talking to my 4-year-old. He seems to have such great questions. “What is a country? Can a diesel train go faster than a race car? Can a zebra run faster than a horse? Can you tell me about the dinosaurs and the big rock? What is ‘relative to’?” And then there are the observations. Deep, wise ones. Or just obvious, pertinent ones. Sometimes a pesky “Mamma, I need to tell you something” is a precursor to a surprisingly lucid and succinct statement. There is a wisdom that comes from simplicity and innocence. It… Read More »Coming back home
When we open our front door to step out, there is a neat row of little toys that meets the eye. Camel, Elephant, Duck, Dinosaur – they all stand sharply, on guard duty, on the porch beam right under our roof. I understand this is not a common place for toys to be found. Let me share with you the story of how this came about. It happened a few months back. It was the beginning of summer. Flowers were blooming. Pictures of the aforesaid flowers were being posted on Facebook. Vegetables were growing. Experiments… Read More »Toys on Sentry Duty
For Thanksgiving, we are planning to take a train ride on Amtrak. The kids are excited. Preparations had to be made, the shopping list was long. Chores done, I drove back from the freeway to the busy main road towards home. Suddenly a strange sense of dwelling took over me. I looked from my Minivan at the many traffic light embedded road. There were auto showrooms on either side every few blocks. Small businesses seemed busy that afternoon. The beauty salon had customers who sat and sipped on water. The Thai restaurant door swung open… Read More »A Thanksgiving Thought
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