Perspective

I never realized how much upbringing and family values affect your life until high school. Actually not even until junior year. Before then I guess I was floating along in some fairytale upbringing I guess. Or I was oblivious to the point of sin.
Probably that.

The point is, I realized how much our background decides who we are, how we see things, and what we believe. No matter how much you deny this and claim to have made your decisions based solely on what you've learned from life, it affects you. Because you forget to take into account that so much of what you experience is taken from your immediate surroundings, which is filled with factors like your parents and how they choose to raise you.

My Indian heritage has influenced a lot of decisions I make. It's instilled that when you make a choice, it reflects not just on you but a family, a whole clan. It's a lot of pressure, but I feel like that's what keeps us kids in line.
I'm not saying one way is the only right way, but the way I was brought up, along with influences from the outside world has changed the way I view the world. It helps me think more clearly, to get different viewpoints.

I guess the point I make is, I grew up in the same city, the same school, the same communities as alot of my peers, yet why do we view different situations differently? Perspective, and the factors that lead us to having a broad or narrow point of view. Without trying to, how can you broaden your view? Without a broader view, how can you peacefully and correctly solve a problem?

GOL GAPPAS!

It means round something.....

This is the last blog that I have to do. I think. It should be, I just hope it gets posted. Because guess who doesn’t have the internet again? Did someone say Aish? GRAND PRIZE WINNER!

But let’s focus on good things.

Like food.

Indian food.

Which although I get plenty of at home, I’ve been craving for a long time.

I want North Indian food, not the South Indian variety my mother loves to cook. [Really, she LOVES to cook. She’s what you would call a cookaholic, she cooks, a week later it’s still sitting there, so to the trash and she cooks again. After all these years, you’d think she’d get the message of ‘THERE ARE THREE PEOPLE IN THIS HOUSE! STOP COOKING FOR A FAMILY OF 1200!” but she doesn’t. I still love her though. Even if I do go through a self imposed starving child in Africa guilt trip every weekend.]

The point is I’ve wanted Indian, specifically north Indian food for a while. So this weekend after we went to the temple [my idea by the way. I felt so sinful staying away so long!] We went to my new favorite restaurant for a while, Royal Bakery. It’s not a bakery, I don’t know why, but in India they call these café style mini restaurants bakeries. It’s kind of ridiculous considering they don’t actually bake anything. Seriously, nothing there is baked. It’s all hard core food and appetizers and all the deserts are either set, fried, or watery. NO BAKING WHAT-SO-EVER.

So anyway, I love it because it reminds me of this amazing like bakery [read place with good food] back home in India that I love going to because, well, they have good food.

So we went, and I decided instead of north Indian, I would go for Indo-Chinese, which is when they fuse the textures and flavors of Chinese dishes like noodles and fried rice, with Indian spices and tastes. It’s the best tasting thing in the world. I live for that fried rice. I would get extra fat on that fried rice, but it’s worth all that ghee and oil.

So yes, we had noodles and fried rice courtesy me and my aunt, but my parents went the chole batura way, must try staple dish by the way. It’s amazing. Fried bread with chickpea curry.

Oh the taste….

So we ate all of that, the typical Indian way of everyone gets a bit of everything way. That worked out fine since they were slow with the dishes so the next dish only came after we’d finished one.

And we also had a dish I discovered last time- chilli paneer. So spicy. So good. Its cheese, paneer cheese, that’s dipped in spicy batter and fried, then it’s made watery with some more curry and spices and wala! It’s the beauty and happiness on a plate!

Lastly, mostly, I’d been craving Pani Puris. I GOT PANI PURIS! After wanting them for a whole month. Oh how those gol gappas crackled in my mouth…

The fun thing is, after that, I finish the night off with a milkshake. Served in house. Because we’re in America and we can do that! Not that they don’t have milkshakes in India, but it’s more exciting here for some reason. Indian milkshakes in America.

That was exciting.

Suds

I think I've said this before.
I'm as Indian as they come.


So one of my favorite pastimes is something that can be used as an example whenever asked to name any normal Indian woman living in India's favorite hobby.
Soaps.
No, not like soap that you use to cleanse yourself.
Soap Operas.
Except of course, they're called serials there. And they are my guilty pleasure.

The most hilarious thing about watching these shows is how much my friends and I pull apart each scene afterwards. No, not in the THIS MUST BE A SIGN kind of way, more of in a "why are we watching this?! What on earth are we doing this" for kind of way. As in, we know that the plots are ridiculous, we know the scenes are impossible, and we know that those people are definitely not that dramatic. Maybe it’s the whole we’re Indian Americans factor, well actually, some of them are Canadian, but it’s still in North America so it counts. Anywho, the whole, American upbringing may be putting a hamper of truly enjoying the glories of Indian television. I say this because when we’re not drooling over anything and everything the male lead does, we’re busy going: ARE YOU SERIOUS! ARE YOU FOR REAL? Or numerous other statements that might include words that are definitely not used in Indian television. 

Honestly, it’s addicting, you fall in and it’s like drugs, you need rehab to get out. Except then you have a relapse and everyone else is having one too so it’s hard to get out again. And when one show ends, even if you’ve been begging more months that they just get this circus off the road, you spend weeks in misery with other people who have collectively decided that, despite being a freak show and completely ridiculous, that show was probably the best thing that ever happened to the world of TV. Yes the same people bombarding the Facebook page for this show begging for the torture to stop. I don't know what people do with their lives, honestly, how do you have this much time?! 
 I mean, when dp you get up and realize that, hello! You have a real life that needs living, so GO.




One of the funniest and most classic scenes of these Indian soaps is "The Great Fall." Now, I'll show you a video, but let me describe this. The girl, who seems to have absolutely no center of gravity around the boy, slip/trips/somehow ends up falling. Except she never, ever, makes it to the ground before landing in the waiting arms of said boy. Never. Even if the boy is standing a good football field away when she begins to sway/fall, he gets like super ninja skills and within seconds arrives to gracefully catch her. 


Now lets watch what I thought one of the most hilairous examples of this great fall was; really, I love these two, but I mean, COME ON!
Start watching around 3:37, note how far away he is. And how much she manages to sway in place before actually falling. 
Love <3.

Let's just introduce you exactly why I actually fell into watching these shows.

I thought this was a good shot of him, I don't really know what he's doing, but the sunlight...

This is Barun Sobti. He plays Arnav. I am pretty much in love with that character and how much of a bully he is...on the outside. But see, he also used to play Shravan who was like 22 and an absolute kid. I loved him for being so hilarious, lovable, and romantic at the same time. Even when I wanted to beat him up for being a jerk to his sweet little wife I loved him!

This man's hair, I don't know what it is, but I shall forever remain unruly.

Siddhant, played by Karan, was the IDEAL, and when I say Ideal, I mean IDEAL perfect, husband. Long story, but the point is, he played that character to perfection. And Sid kind of just blew up to the become one of the best husbands in the history of Indian TV, so yay him!


Take a moment to notice how often I say husband, it's because they're usually married, unless it's a really intense love story where they willingly fell in love and the whole point of the story was that they WANTED to get married. More likely scenarios include a marriage forced upon one or both of them through family, blackmail etc, or a marriage that happened by mistake. I still cant figure out how you go through a whole long Hindu marriage ceremony without realizing that, hey! I'm getting married!


So yeah, a lot of the stories are about how the one or the other spends months maybe years trying to make the other realize they're meant to be, or how sacred a bond they have, or actually falling in love with the other...


 It’s absolutely ridiculous, and this blog is starting to sound more like some sort of weirdo journal, alas I shall continue.It's because how the girls manage to turn imperfect boys into semi perfect men. It's incredible really, what "love" and a few falls, eye-locks, and nights spent in the jungle can do...


Speaking of jungles, one of the must haves in Indian Television. They're in a car right, that was running just fine and dandy until they end up alone on a deserted road in the middle of a jungle/forest. And so they're cars broken out, naturally, they decide it's safer to fight and walk through the jungle. Smart move.  


It's complicated. And you could probably care less.


I am yet to figure out why this blog is so long, or more importantly, WHY DO I STILL WATCH THESE SHOWS?!?!?!

I wanna feel connected :(

It’s quite hard to believe that the whole world doesn’t have an internet connection. I feel so absolutely lost without mine! Trust me.

My internet has being going wack for the past week; it’s throwing some sort of temper tantrum!

Why?

I don’t know. I want to know, so that I can help.

Does begging you modem to talk to you count as sad and delusional?

If it does, then I’m your guy, well, gal. Either way, I guess I’m sad and delusional. Because I’ve been begging my internet to work for quite a while now.

Sure, it’s got its moments, but I mean when I actually need it, say if I need to conduct research, it just dies.

I don’t know why, but it has the greatest timing.

WHAT IS THIS PUNISHMENT FOR I ASK OF YOU!!!

Basically, it won’t load ANYTHING.

And I mean ANYTHING.

It’s not my laptop. Because the PC’s net isn’t working either, and it isn’t working on my iPod either.

So I’m internet-less in what is supposed to be a fast and connected 24/7 world. Well country…city?

This sad moment gave me time to think of times before internet….well ok maybe not. I can’t really remember that. BUT! I do remember summers spent in India before the grand idea of taking a laptop came into my head. And well, before they had the high-speed internet hookup.

And really, it’s not that bad, sometimes though, their high-speed internet is the speed of dialup here. So YouTube videos? Yeah, not happening unless I get it opened and come back an hour later to watch that five minute video.

That was the first summer, something happened after that, I don’t know what, but the internet was WAY faster. I was happy.

I’m not happy right now. I want my internet back.

WHERE IS MY INTERNET?

Without my internet, how am I supposed to do important things like bug my cousin on Facebook!?

I just don’t get this injustice…

The internet is so useful, it should be a priority item I think, it’s all fast and connecting. Even my untech friendly aunts and grandma love it, why? Because they get to bug their kids to go onto Facebook and orkut and get those prettiful pictures I post, of course.

It’s fun, really. It’s so useful. USEFUL, I tell you.

Why isn’t it working then O_O?

Let's Talk Fraaandship.

This post is simply so I can talk about this movie I wanna see.

It's based completely on being friends and finding love thourgh- of all things- Facebook.

Yes. That blue and white miracle that suddenly links you with anyone and everyone you want or don't want to meet.

The movie looks adorable by the way, that's why I'm blogging about it.

But it also gives you insight on how the American world influences New Age India.

The kids in this movie have no qualms about dating and kissing etc etc.

Their only problem is what most American teens face : Does he/she like me?

And their dressing senses too reveals the new India.

A couple years ago, that girl would not be caught outside on the streeets in just shorts and a tee, now it's ok.

Then the partying, this is my new party song- at least for a few weeks: 

Basically, this movie and alot of other movies, gives people and insight on how the western world is changing the ever changing land of diversity and culture.

Vishnu and the Americans

So, we're reading The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri in my World Lit class at school, and let me tell you, it's definitely opened up a new view point to me.

Of course I've always wondered what Americans would think of the India if they actually met it. As is, the part that's not glorified as "the land of elephants" [side note: no, my family there does not ride an elephant to work/school, STOP ASKING ME]

What happens when they meet the India that isn't all desolate and full of malnourished, homeless street children.

What happens when they meet the real India?

The lives lived in small middle class neighborhoods, the lives lived in small houses or tiny apartments where every neighbor knows exactly what's going on in the house next door.

India is known as the land of diversity, infact it's motto is Unity in Diversity, so on that basis it's hard to group anything into groups. 

What is the real India?

Is it the India picturized in this book written by a man who walked those streets.

It may be what I know, or it may be a world totally different from what I know it to be.

These are just a few snap shots of the glories of India.

The devotional India:

The Indian symbol of love:

The accepting India

The cultural roots of India

And if you get a chance : http://india.gov.in/

The Sucky Yucky Part of Being Indian

Dating.

I am pretty sure the word doesn't exist to most desi parents.

If it does it's probably along with those so called swear words.

It's a dirty dirty word that word. 

It ruins children. Right?

Now I'm not saying all desi parents are like that, but for a majority, even those high and mighty "Oh, we have wonderfully assimilated into the American way of life while keeping our roots," people draw a line. And for some reason that line was drawn at one of the most important factors of adult life.

Let's face it, no matter how much your parents think they know you, they don't. Your friends, who are probably as young and "inexperienced" as you have a better chance of finding someone you'll love to be with than your parents.

You may have a wonderful and open relationship, but here, in the US of A, things are hidden.

That my dearies, is what is called a cultural lag. And that lag is currently the bane of desi children's existence. 

It just won't work. Let's face it. [Why am I trying to convince you of this? I don't know, you would get this, right?] In today's day and age. With the way we grew up, the way we are growing up, the secrets, the lies, the hidden lives and agendas, our poor oblivious parents, oh, what will you do?

 Our views are different, our values not the same, our experiences, beliefs, the challenges we face. 

Times have changed, desis, and I think we can all agree, it's time our parents change with them.

I shall leave you with a song. God I wish it were as uncomplicated at this. Why can't life be a movie where there's always a happy ending and gang of looney friends that just happen to love you so badly, they're willing to do anything, and everything.
So yeah, the song itself is kind of ridiculous, it's kind of over the top and dreamy. Possibly a bit annoying. But, it's cute, I can't help it...