Culture Wrappings: An Excerpt from “The Mourners”
Like any respectable Indian family, the Shantis didn’t use the house kitchen, they cooked in their garage.
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Culture Wrappings IV: Closeted Puja
The home mandir is integral to daily living. It’s your ‘last stop’ before you start your day and before you go to bed. If something good happens, you go here to show your gratitude. When something challenging or terrible happens, you come here for comfort and strength.
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Culture Wrappings III: Please Keep Your Beautiful Feet Away from my Beautiful Books
Granted, the cartoon sidewalks are usually spotless apart from the occasional pile of leaves and errant chewing gum, but that doesn’t mean it would have been any better if they’d taken their shoes off. Feet on books? No. Just, NO.
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Culture Wrappings: Sanskar aur Parampara (Culture and Tradition)
I would argue that we were raised to see the best parts of our culture and that some of it was made visible via Bollywood. However, this was a world we visited rather than took at face value as the life we should be expected to lead. It is that which has allowed me to hold these films dear whilst still being critical.
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Culture Wrappings
Culture and religion aren’t merely things you carry with you. For some reason, I thought they were just two significant chunks of the building material shaping the me-ness. But I learned over time that they are things which largely exist in boxes.
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