Culture Chaos : Stories of An Indian Abroad

Culture Chaos : Stories of An Indian Abroad

A true desi and a proud Mumbai girl, 5 years ago I moved out of home and have been going from one country to another and have changed more houses and cities than I can remember. This is a podcast about life abroad, trying to make sense out of different cultural norms and a whole new way of living. My confusions and the stories that arise from this chaos while I try to hold on to my culture, identity and life as I know it...

Episodes

76: Calm, Chaos & Corona

March 22, 2020 • 8 mins
Amidst the COVID-19 chaos  I am coming to you with an update on how things have been on my side of the world and how I am learning to make the best of this gift of time that we've all been given. 

Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of my experiences trying to navigate life away from India. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or leave your feedback/review. Thank you for listenin...
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75: The India Trip That Broke My Heart

March 5, 2020 • 9 mins
Culture Chaos Podcast is back and in my 75th episode, I share some stories from my recent India trip. Some bitter sweet memories and some very important realizations that made this trip an important chapter in my journey of navigating life away from home. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode that I loved creating. 

I am thrilled to be back! 

Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stori...
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74: Culture Chaos is Back!

March 4, 2020 • 2 mins
After a long break, I am finally back. Please stay tuned for my episode releasing tomorrow!! 
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73: What's Your Comfort Ritual?

November 21, 2019 • 8 mins
Whether you’re trying to re-live your entire childhoods on your visits home, or you’re trying to recreate a piece of back-home in your lives abroad - we all have designed a bunch of our own comfort rituals over time. I am posting this episode right before my flight takes off on my trip home, to MY Mumbai and share a few things that I plan to experience as a part of my comfort rituals.

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72: Eastern Gurus & Sects in the West - Truth or Scam?

October 30, 2019 • 10 mins
Since the 1960s, we’ve seen a growing appeal for eastern culture, religious sects and gurus in the west. Is this the biggest scam to be born out of the sub-continent or is there truly an appeal for our culture in the west. If so, what is it?

Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of my experiences trying to navigate life away from India. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or leave...
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71: Navratri in the NRI Community: A Culture Beyond Garba.

October 16, 2019 • 11 mins
Navratri for the NRI community is beyond the 9 days of fasting, its beyond garba dancing or the religious celebrations. For the NRI community, Navratri events have always had a huge cultural significance and is seen as a time to get together and celebrate our roots and culture. It took me almost 8 years of attending Garba events in North America to understand the deep cultural meaning this festival held for the Indian communit...
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70: Climate Change, Sustainability and our Cultural Inheritance

September 25, 2019 • 8 mins
With the climate change and sustainable living conversation capturing the attention of the world, it is now time for each one of us to act upon it and make some adjustments to how we go about our daily lives. Surprisingly for us, the basic principals of sustainable living were very much a part of the lives of our parents and grand parents and we've all witnessed some of it. 

For today's podcast, I revisit some of thes...
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69: Beyond Fine Dinning at Humble Ethnic Restaurants

September 11, 2019 • 11 mins
For immigrants or any one that has ever moved away from home, it is these humble ethnic hole-in-the-wall restaurants that bring them true flavors of nostalgia. From the joy of discovering these joints, to the whole cultural experience of visiting and dinning there, these restaurants each tell a unique story. Today's podcast, is an ode to all the home chefs, caterers and food enthusiasts who go out of their way and bring migran...
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68: Indian education system could be doing something right

August 28, 2019 • 11 mins
Even though it has been at the centre of criticism for several decades, the Indian schooling and education system has features worth appreciating. From introducing us to multiple languages at an early stage, to taking us through several memorization techniques; from innovative methods to learn math and science to developing a resilient personality - we owe a lot to our school system. In this episode, I look at some qualities o...
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67: Brain Drain - An Indian Myth or Reality?

August 14, 2019 • 11 mins
For a couple of decades now, brain drain has been a big concern for policy makers and trend analysts in India but how much of the argument really holds true?  For a landscape like India, is the economy really getting adversely affected by the youth moving out of the country? If so, than what is it about the economy that is compelling our youth to move back to the home county after getting an education and probably some work ex...
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66: In a Relationship with an Immigrant - Culture Chaos Letters

July 25, 2019 • 9 mins
Does being an immigrant control the dynamic of a relationship one is in? For this episode in the Culture Chaos letters series, I share snippets from some of the messages and letters I’ve received over the past few months. Whether it is instances from being raised by immigrant parents or curiosities of being married to one, being in a relationship with an immigrant definitely comes with its complexities.

Check out more...
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65: Season of Long Weekends

July 17, 2019 • 10 mins
July marks one of the biggest holidays of the year on the North American continent. What are these July long weekends all about and what do they stand for? In this podcast, I look at the 4th of July & Canada Day weekend's cultures, traditions and how they compare to the way we celebrate our national holidays back in India. 

Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of my experiences trying t...
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64: Has Yoga Put India on the Map?

June 25, 2019 • 13 mins
Last week, the world celebrated International Yoga Day and it was a phenomenal moment for a lifestyle, a philosophy and an art form which has become an ambassador of Indian culture all over the world. On this week's podcast, I discuss whether Yoga has put India on the map or are we slowly loosing the true essence of something so sacred to our culture due to it's misinterpretation all over the world?

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63: What's in a Name?

June 12, 2019 • 11 mins
A desi person moving abroad and getting a new western name, used to be a fairly common practice for NRIs back in the day. A lot of us still try to use shorter more general type of names to go on the coffee cups or restaurant reservations just to keep things simple. Ever wondered why this is the case? In this week’s podcast, I look into whether it is simply a western influence or are there deeper cultural reasons for desis adop...
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62: Immigrant Heritage Month & our shared history with Chinese Immigrants

June 5, 2019 • 9 mins
In observance of the Immigrant Heritage Month, I look into the history of the Chinese Immigrant community and draw parallels between their history with that of Indian immigration history over the years. Despite of having such few things in common as a culture - the  stories between our two communities have a lot in common and this says a lot about the present day success of these two immigrant groups in the west. 

Che...
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61: 'Understand your roots to know where you're going' - Culture Chaos Letters

May 21, 2019 • 15 mins

In this month's Culture Chaos letters series - I share Hanik's story who is the 3rd generation of his NRI family. Having been away from the homeland for over a century - his family has beautifully preserved and carried forward the heritage and culture. Hanik continues this quest to discover his roots and reconnect with his people back in India. In his letter, he shares some amazing moments from his India trips as an NRI and talks a...

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60: Embracing Culture, One Music Raag at a Time

May 14, 2019 • 7 mins

How our culture and beliefs came to be embraced by the west an interesting story that has it's roots in the early 1960s. In today's episode, I explore how indian music and musicians like Pt. Ravi Shankar have played an important role in creating a beautiful musical fusion of the eastern sounds with the western sensibilities. 

Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of my experiences trying to navigate lif...

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59: Gun control & Why Should Desis Care?

May 8, 2019 • 10 mins

The argument about gun control has been around for a while now but what is this whole debate about? Why is gun ownership such an important issue for a country like American and why should we care about it? Today's podcast is a little explainer of the whole issue with gun control in this part of the world for the desi perspective. 

Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of my experiences trying to navigat...

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58: Abroad Wali Student Life

May 1, 2019 • 11 mins

Moving away from home for your education could be one of the most difficult yet the most rewarding experiences in life. In this episode, I share some stories from my abroad wali student life and talk about why this experiment is one worth giving a shot to.

 Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of my experiences trying to navigate life away from India. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or l...

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57: She's My Grandma first! - Culture Chaos Letters

April 23, 2019 • 10 mins

In the first letter from the Culture Chaos letters series, we hear from Rohan who talks about his experience with his grand mother's divided attention every-time his NRI cousins visited India. First as a 9 year old child and now as an adult, Rohan explores some factors that are responsible for the increasing cultural divide among Indians living across different continents.

To share your stories about NRI life, dreams of moving ab...

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