Making Cultural Connections

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Connecting with your homeland’s culture when living in a different country has always been hard. For centuries immigrant families have struggled to keep their traditions alive while simultaneously attempting to assimilate in their new homes. The issue is made even more complicated when your family is mixed, like mine. There’s the constant worry about how much of your culture you can lay claim to. Only half? Three quarters? What even is half of a culture? Are you neglecting to recognize your own privilege by wishing you were more “typical?”
For me, the question has never resolved itself. I still can’t talk about the stereotypical Indian upbringing with other Indian kids. I can’t make relatable jokes, apart from those recycled from brown twitter, and I definitely can’t speak a second language. What I have learned to do, however, is use the opportunities I have to acsess aspects of my culture that are learnable — clothing (see prom dress above) and more importantly, food.
I’ve been eating Indian food my whole life and can vouch, without bias, that my Nani’s is the best. For this project I decided that not only would I learn her family recipes, but I would learn what made her recipes, and Indian food in general, so delicious. Now not all of this project is for the selfless pursuit of knowledge. I’m heading off to college in the fall and can’t imagine what 4 years without my favorite dishes would be like, so learning them first hand gives me an edge in attempting to make them independently. And while I may never be able to replicate that perfect flavor seemingly only my grandmother can coax from dishes, I’m going to try my hardest. So stay tuned!

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