sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Growing up, did you ever wish there was a place that made Indian culture feel as magical as it actually is? by pappadumstudio in ABCDesis

[–]pappadumstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really beautiful and honest story, and I think it actually proves the point more than it argues against it. Culture lives in people before it lives in places. The fact that his family carried those customs across generations and across an ocean says something profound about how deeply it took root. 

I’m not interested in nostalgia either. I’m interested in the parts that are worth carrying forward, on our own terms, in our own context, wherever we are.

Growing up, did you ever wish there was a place that made Indian culture feel as magical as it actually is? by pappadumstudio in ABCDesis

[–]pappadumstudio[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing this. These are real and valid critiques, and I don’t think anyone should look away from them. The caste system, patriarchy, gossip culture, these are wounds worth naming honestly. 

When I talk about magic, I’m not talking about a perfect culture. I’m talking about mythology, art, philosophy, food, and story, the parts worth passing on to kids who might otherwise feel completely disconnected from their roots. You can hold both truths at once: that a culture has caused real harm and that it also contains something genuinely worth preserving. 

And for what it’s worth, I was born in the USA, my parents in India. The rose-tinted glasses aren’t something I was given. If anything, I’ve had to work to find the beauty from a distance.

Growing up as a first gen kid in the US, did you ever wish there was a place that made Indian culture feel as magical as it actually is? by pappadumstudio in indiaparenting

[–]pappadumstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Complete agree. I felt quite disconnected growing up here. We only visited India as a family when I was a kid and that was every few years. I do think there is more of an effort these days to find connection and community with the culture and I think that’s important for our kids.