India

CultureTravel

For the past week, I’ve been recovering from my jet lag from traveling on a couple of connecting international flights. While my body is coping with the time zone changes, my palate has been quite accustomed to zesty flavors I savored back in my motherland: India. I spent six weeks in the city of Bangalore and put my gustation skills to the test. I ventured through the city and found obscure, arcane locations of some of the best food I have ever had. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Perhaps the most basic of all places to start is on the street. No matter what road you decide to take a stroll on, there will be plenty of fruit vendors to satisfy your appetite. There was a guava vendor quite close to my residence in India. I was completely addicted and besotted by his fresh and verdant supply of tropical fruits. Here’s a picture of some of the guava I cut up:

Quite delicious, am I right? These are full of vitamins and goodness. The pink on green color blocking also adds to the fruit being irresistible. Just make sure you wash your fruit, though. Roadside fruit have had flies sit on top of them all day. Hygiene always comes first!

Let’s move on to another type of roadside fruit: coconut. You do not necessary eat the coconut, but you can get fresh coconut water from a street vendor. Your papillae will literally bathe in sweet ambrosia, if you will. The best part about this is that the vendor will cut open the coconut for you and give you a free straw. What better way is there to cool off on a humid day?

Well, now I’m going to wean off the healthy part of this article and get straight into some chocolaty goodness. Agarwal Bhavan in Mathikere (a district in Bangalore) offers some of the best cake in the world. Just take a look at this one:

There’s something different about Indian cakes…they do not taste like the cake I have had in America. I cannot pinpoint what that difference is, though. It may be the eggless batter used for the large vegetarian population in India or it could be a sensation from tasting food in my country. Either way, a discrepancy surely exists.

Let me tell you about a few other dishes I relished at the Agarwal Bhavan. They are called chaats, and they are spicy little snacks with vegetables and various toppings. Two of my favorite chaats are pani puri (pani meaning water in Hindi) and masala puri. You basically encounter puffed or hardened fried dough drenched in spicy mixture of ginger, garlic, chili powder, and mango powder. Frankly, I think these little side trips to heaven were my favorite part of Bangalore!

Now that we’ve gone over fruits, snacks, and desserts, I think it’s time to get into the main course of the meal. For the best vegetarian food at a reasonable price, head to the Priyadarshini Vegetarian Restaurant in Yeshwantpur (another district in Bangalore). I recommend to you the naan, a flatbread drizzled with light butter and cilantro, and the butter paneer. Truly, this was a match made in heaven…I mean, just look at the photo!

With all this food waiting for you in Bangalore, you really cannot go wrong visiting. Your taste buds will be titillated beyond belief. You’ll always have company, as these places tend to be crowded, but that’s only because they’re amazing eateries.

Do you have any favorite foods from places you’ve visited? Remember, tasting different cuisines is also a great way to get to know another culture. You can learn how different people live just by seeing and experiencing what their diet consists of. I encourage you, like I do in every article, to learn about different cultures. Food is just one way to get started!

CultureEducationTravel

Followed by some, distorted by a few, and misconceived by many…what is Hinduism, after all? While explaining what it is would take an encyclopedia’s length, I’m here today to tell you what it is not. Western media and translators have misinterpreted the religion due to many cultural and linguistic barriers, but I’m here to break those stereotypes. You may be shocked but you will definitely learn, even if you are Hindu. Ready? Let’s start.

Misconception #1: Hindus worship cows.

Hindus do not worship cows, but respect them. Before copious amounts of industrialization hit India, the cow was used in a simple system that I like to call a resource triangle, as depicted below:

hindu 1

Agricultural benefits came from the fact that cows were used for plowing fields efficiently. Essentially, they acted as tractors before modern technology. This allowed a farmer’s harvest to be plentiful. Also, the manure produced by these bovine beauties was quite useful. We all are cognizant that homes must have this: food. You need to feed a family, and cows take care of that need too. Cheese (or paneer as many Indians prefer), milk, and butter could easily be provided to run a household. For this reason, many Hindus are vegetarians and abstain from eating beef as cattle provide them with what is basically an unlimited supply of food. Energy is produced by cow dung. It can be used to light fires and insulate homes in rural areas because it is easily flammable and can retain heat. Cows are respected because they act as a sustainability system for early Indian society. For fostering society, the cow is even seen as a maternal figure. As far as worship goes, Hindus regard all forms of life as sacred and venerate them, as they believe that no harm should be done upon to others—be it a human, a cow, or even an insect.

Misconception #2: Hinduism is a polytheistic religion.

This is perhaps the most common misconception. Hinduism is actually not a polytheistic religion. It’s rumored that Hindus worship 330 million gods or so, but that’s simply not true. Western interpreters of the religion misinterpreted this part, as one Hindu text states there are 330-million devas, or spiritual beings. Therefore, there are not millions of gods in Hinduism, making it not polytheistic. Rather, Hinduism is pluralistic. This means that there are multiple ways to connect, think, and relate to God. It’s believed that God can come in many different manifestations, and that God exists in all forms of life and in the universe.

Misconception #3: India is a poor country…of course generations of proletariat, uneducated beings would believe in such a silly religion.

Actually, India was a rich country until it was plundered and pillaged by centuries of Mughal rule followed by decades of British colonization. Indians discovered the Hindu number system (an early ancestor of the Arabic number system we use today), the concept of zero, various trigonometric functions, ayurvedic medicine, cataract surgery, plastic surgery (this happened as early as 2000 BCE, actually), shampoo (derived from the Hindustani word champo), and even the game of snakes and ladders (now also played as chutes and ladders). Hinduism has also been called a scientific religion in its teachings by several religious observers and analysts. So, while uneducated and illiterate people may be bountiful in India (just like anywhere else), that does not equate to stupidity or silliness.

Misconception #4: Hinduism endorses the caste system.

Way back when, a group of rich, upper-class priests decided to make a social hierarchy system: the caste system. What must be noted here is that the caste system was a cultural brainchild, not a religious rule. Tragically, the advent has been associated with the religion, when in reality it is a mishap of people, not divine rule

Misconception #5: Hindus use the swastika. They totally endorse Nazism.

The swastika existed in South Asian culture long before World War II, roughly about 4,000 years ago. However, the meaning of the symbol was not meant to be a social stigma towards a certain group of people. Unfortunately, during the 1930s and 1940s, a man decided to rise to power and propagandize, pervert, and misuse the swastika to accomplish a mission so murderous and heinous. The swastika actually represents the beginning of life and its swirling out into all the ends of the universe. It is meant to promote life, not destroy it.

Misconception #6: Hinduism isn’t relevant. No one really practices it and it has no influence in the world.

Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, just behind Christianity and Islam. There are one billion believers and counting. It is also the world’s oldest religion, believed to have been founded nearly 8,000 years ago. With being the world’s oldest religion, Hinduism has had some effects on other beliefs. Buddhism’s founder, Siddhartha Gautama, was of Indian origin and a Hindu himself. Many of Buddhism’s principles are rooted in Hinduism’s teachings. Christianity’s story of the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ is analogous to that of Lord Krishna’s. Though Christians believe that Hindus “stole” that idea, the story of Lord Krishna came before that of Christ’s. Concepts of eternal truth and accounts of divinity were first recorded by Hindus. All in all, Hinduism has had an impact on the world as it has shaped policies of various mediums of spirituality.

Misconception #7: Hinduism is only practiced in India.

To be frank, with one billion followers, one country cannot contain all of Hinduism and its adherents. While most of the followers of this faith reside in India, large communities have been established in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States of America. Hinduism has truly proven to be a global religion, spreading its ideas to a myriad of people.

I hope you had the opportunity to learn a few things from this article. Hinduism isn’t the only misconceived religion, as all faiths have had their fair share of misinterpretation, stereotypes, and misunderstandings. I want you to depart with one idea in mind: educate yourself. Educate yourself about other beliefs and cultures. I say this a lot nowadays, but only because it’s true. Twenty-first century illiteracy does not come from those who cannot read, but rather from those who remain ignorant and refuse to learn. So go ahead, learn something new during your youth. Seize the chances you have and don’t miss a single one!

Image: Nicolas Raymond, Flickr

CultureHealth

“Beauty comes at a price.” There’s a sentence we have all heard, without doubt. Physical beauty, especially, comes at such a price. Waxing, bleaching, plucking, shaving, and threading…things all us ladies (and some men) have spent countless hours at the salon doing. But as Americans, what’s our take on beauty? What’s physically attractive, and what’s not physically attractive? Who decides these rules? How do American standards of pulchritude compare to those of the Eastern world?

I am currently in India, and I had the chance to interview several people about what they believe is beautiful in a woman. Here are a few perspectives from the East:

“When I marry the girl of my dreams, I want her to be as fair as the moon…lips as red as cherries, and very black hair. I think a girl like that would be very attractive.”

“Milky white skin. Like Kareena Kapoor and Tammanah Bhatia, the Bollywood actresses. Intellect would be a great addition to those looks, though.”

“As a girl, I’ve always been told to use fairness products. They’re supposed to elicit the true beauty out of me or something. I don’t know though, they don’t really work. But that’s what everyone wants: whiteness.”

I interviewed 12 people, but I had to stop because everyone said the same thing: fairness, whiteness, and lightness. Everybody seemed to be in love with the concept of being light-skinned. In fact, what I like to call the “Fairness Industry,” is booming not only in India, but in Asia as well. Take a look at these creams and their purpose:

beauty cream

Phrases like “healthy white” and “fair and lovely” capsize the mind at first glance. It almost seems as though being white and fair is associated with being “healthy” and “lovely.” Is this a social stigma? Do young Asian girls have to be fair-skinned to be beautiful? Skin bleaching products such as creams and gels certainly do exist in the USA, but they are nowhere near as popular there as they are in Asia as a whole. Where does the idea of equating attractiveness to fairness stem from?

Back in the day, those who toiled in the fields and struggled in blistering heat possessed a darker skin tone than those who remained indoors, living in luxury and royalty. Having darker pigmentation became easily associated with being poor or part of the working class. Skin color became associated with wealth, and those who were more affluent were also seen as more desirable.

Let’s zoom forward to present-day Bollywood. Recently, the Hindi film “Gori Tere Pyaar Mein” came out. The title literally translates to “In your love, fair-skinned girl.” Why not make a film called “Kali Tere Pyaar Mein,” or “In your love, dark-skinned girl?” Once again, movies in India emphasize the glowing fairness of girl as beautiful, leaving no room for the majority of the olive to tan to dark-complexioned people. With subliminal messages like this, those of us who are not fair are almost forced to believe that we are not as attractive to our white counterparts. I can provide a personal example of this, as one of my North Indian friends (who is quite fair in complexion) teased me for being a dark-toned South Indian (we inhabit areas closer to the equator, so what do you expect?) once. Since when is being more pigmented a sin? Why are fair people automatically deemed beautiful, while darker skinned girls struggle to earn that title?

What about America? What do American girls believe will make them look beautiful? The answer is essentially the opposite of Asia’s: America wants tan girls. The tanning industry prospers in America: fake tans, tanning beds, and other “tan-in-a-can” products are quite the profitable investment. When summer comes around, millions of girls rush to the beach to bronze themselves. I’ve seen girls from my high school spend their paychecks on tanning beds in the winter…yes, in the winter, when there’s barely any sun and being slightly pale is a commonplace occurrence. It’s ludicrous to see what our young girls do their skin…whether they want to bleach it or bronze it. I had several Caucasian friends tell me “Wow, I wish I was tan like you. Your tan lasts year-round.” It feels weird to be castigated by one community for being tan, and complimented by another for the same thing. Why can’t we all just be proud of our original skin color?

However, there is one characteristic of beauty that seemed to be popular in India and America: skinniness. Perhaps the struggle to be slim is a global epidemic, as well. Dieting pills, weight-loss programs, V-shapers…they’re everywhere. Magazines, movies, retweets made by several of my guy friends that I follow on Twitter all depict skinny actresses and models. As girls, we are constantly surrounded by sources that tell us that skinny is right and that people need to see our collarbones…or else we are just not beautiful.

And once we gain that skinny body through hours at gym and spent dieting, we need to show it off, don’t we? Let’s take a detour and play the skin game. The more skin you reveal, the sexier you are. That sentence should’ve made most of us feel somewhat uncomfortable. We live in a society where the female body is such a weird object: people want to see girls naked, but once they do, certain girls who exposed their bodies are slut-shamed. Girls are heavily imposed with a double standard in this sense. What do you want her to do? Take her clothes off? Will you still respect her after? These are the relevant questions that you should ask yourself if you’re interested in a particular girl. Find those answers and don’t dive into a cesspool of hypocrisy.

So girls, what makes you beautiful? Your complexion? Your weight? The amount of clothes you wear? Truly, there is no right answer. Society tries to oppress you with what it believes to be beautiful. Certain people assume that there is only one ideal look for beauty, whereas in reality, that’s just not that case. We need to celebrate our diversity. We can do so by not succumbing to a certain weight and pigmentation. If you want to wear a religious veil and cover your body, you should be allowed to do so. If you want to keep your original skin color, you should be allowed to do so. If you want to eat that juicy sandwich from McDonald’s, you should be allowed to do so. If you want to embrace your originality and the looks you were born with, you should be allowed to do so.

Your youth shouldn’t be spent on altering yourself physically to gain acceptance from society. It should be more about educating yourself and being happy. Society will always say one thing or the other, but it’s up to us to choose what we want to listen to.

Image: The Resurgence

CultureTravel

Recently elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a speech about India launching a very cost-effective piece of space technology. Last November, India was the first Asian country to launch a spacecraft to Mars, putting itself in first place in the red race. If that mission is successful, India will be a part of a small group of countries to have successfully reached and explored Mars.

Modi proudly says, “Our scientists have shown the world a new paradigm of frugal engineering and the power of imagination.” This spacecraft and the mission all come at an extremely cheap price: 4.5 billion rupees, or $75 million. Modi even claims that this project costs less than the budget of the Hollywood movie Gravity.

The new Indian Prime Minister wants to also hold a meeting with neighboring South Asian countries that are a part of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to discuss how the freshly launched satellite is “a gift from India,” as Modi claims it to be with quite the zeal. He hopes for the amelioration among the nations of South Asia, as he wants them to also be an integral part in the world’s limelight.

Along with many accolades, the Indian government has faced some rebuke. India is a country that is filled with problems: poverty, disease, lack of sanitation, etc. India also dangles on one of the longest economic slowdowns it has ever faced. Should the government really be focusing on improving its space program over trying to combat the domestic and social issues ostensibly present?

Despite the criticism, Modi claims that space technology can offer quite a few uses and can become “an integral part of our daily life today.” India celebrates its leap in space science and hopes for a bright future in the field. But what do you think about advances in space technology? Would you consider joining this innovative field? How do you feel about the exploration of Mars? We want to know what the youth’s view of space exploration and technology is, as this is a blossoming field with vast job opportunities.

Image: NASA