The need to satisfy cultural curiosity... from gulab jamuns to the Indian freedom struggle

When you are in a place you are alien to, you have to learn to live and mingle with other people. Often, the people around you of other nationalities and from different cultural backgrounds are curious to know more about you and where you come from. Since in today's times, we are not pioneers and there have been plenty of cultural exchanges already, there are plenty of people who know tentatively about Indian culture, particularly Indian cuisine and Indian films.
When I had just come to the US for my studies, I was asked by an American lady if I knew gulab jamuns and what they were made of. I was also pleasantly surprised when I heard someone else refer to this delicacy as g-jams, one of his favorites, by the way. Gradually, I got accustomed to people with partial knowledge of our culture asking such off-hand questions.
One roommate, a friendly African-American, was curious to know if the tradition of arranged marriage was still prevalent in India. Another Chinese friend had a question that left me a little confused, for she asked me why Indians do not hate English people and the English language if the British ruled over you for so long. Sometimes, after such bold questions, she used to feel a bit embarrassed at her own outspokenness and then request me not to be offended by her for she did not know about my country or culture. To her curiosity and openness, of course, no offense was taken.
I think I mentioned here people who were comparatively mature and had the sense to be careful not to offend or hurt any sentiments. But I know of a school-going cousin having been asked sincerely by his friends if he gets to eat 'chicken tikka and naan' for every meal. They also added that they were really envious if he did.
Jokes apart, if there is curiosity, there is a need to know. So, I think there needs to be a platform for youth from different cultures to be able to connect and exchange information in an open environment. The various national and ethnic associations of students at colleges and the like do that to some extent. For example, festivals like Diwali or the Chinese New Year, where students from other countries and cultures are welcome to join, are a good way to foster amiable relations between cultures. I remember attending an Iranian movie night, where a movie with subtitles was shown and then the students from Iran spoke about it to help us understand better what it depicted.
Sometimes, just being present is not enough though. One needs to be willing to ask and understand what is going on. A funny example that springs to mind happened at an Indian cultural programme for Diwali. A student was performing to a popular Hindi film song, a dance of the 'tapori' style. A Chinese student in the audience next to me asked sincerely if this traditional dance was a custom at the festival of Diwali. Lucky for him, I could point out that this was just a modern form of entertainment or the poor fellow would have thought every Indian household dances to 'dhinka chika dhinka chika' on Diwali.
In this case, what I wanted to point out and appreciate was that he was willing to ask and get more information about a culture foreign to him. If we all keep our eyes and ears open and more importantly our minds and hearts, there are plenty of new things to learn and even some new friends to be made.
Natasha, April 2014.