10/11: Panchkula, Haryana
Now at home; it is 9:16pm and dinner is almost ready. The wife of the eldest brother has just told me that when I am finished, I must come teach her to bake. Cookies I think. She doesn't seem to understand why a microwave 'oven' would not work to do the job like any other oven. I guess there is a first try for everything!
She speaks English well, met her husband while receiving her masters degree. I am so incredibly grateful for her presence and friendship while I am here. She tells me that India is a transition country- split between traditional and modern ways- and that that is the most difficult place to be. She personally experiences the challenges on the household level as a wife (submissive/independent; food; family/career; etc) but ultimately remains entirely committed to her role in the family as mother and helping hand to her mother-in-law. The general belief is that Western ways of "freedom" are actually just selfish. "Aren't your parents lonely? Why don't you live with them?"
~
The family as a whole seems to fit perfectly into the definition of 'split,' as it refers to their modern and traditional quality. The television or computer are almost always on, the microwave is used occasionally, western-styled clothes are worn by the younger generation and white 'wonder' bread and some other very American-styled products are consumed now and then. Still, the majority is quite traditional. We partake in 'puja' (a prayer/mantra, frequently chanted to a particular deity over a shrine) and I'll regularly hear my host mother do the same over food she prepares or while doing laundry; food is nearly always made from scratch, the produce coming from vendors around the house and milk from their family's cow; the baby's milk is heated with a few herbs to aid in digestion; and most significantly in my mind, the entire family lives shares the same house, and can not imagine it being any other way.
It is fascinating to frequently witness behaviors that I would deem so uncharacteristic of one another being executed in one person. Maybe it is not so much the contradiction, but the unconsciousness with which traditional and modern behaviors merge. Eating a wonder bread/fake cheese sandwich...but always finishing with black salt (a useful aid in digestion). Or spending the afternoon watching television.....but never forgetting to take some moments to offer a prayer to the shrine before leaving for work.
I guess contradictions of people exist everywhere in the world- India or even an Ayurvedic family is no different. But my host sister is saddened by the modernization of India, reminiscing of the traditional ways of her own mother and grandmother. Modernization is rampant on a large scale- especially it seems if you wish to be distinguished as a well-to-do person or family. So many fearful thoughts are coming up for me about the sustainability of Indian plants/animals/resources if the reverence for traditional foods and ways are lost in the excited flurry to modernize; this topic could easily pull me into research in-and-of its self.
Now at home; it is 9:16pm and dinner is almost ready. The wife of the eldest brother has just told me that when I am finished, I must come teach her to bake. Cookies I think. She doesn't seem to understand why a microwave 'oven' would not work to do the job like any other oven. I guess there is a first try for everything!
She speaks English well, met her husband while receiving her masters degree. I am so incredibly grateful for her presence and friendship while I am here. She tells me that India is a transition country- split between traditional and modern ways- and that that is the most difficult place to be. She personally experiences the challenges on the household level as a wife (submissive/independent; food; family/career; etc) but ultimately remains entirely committed to her role in the family as mother and helping hand to her mother-in-law. The general belief is that Western ways of "freedom" are actually just selfish. "Aren't your parents lonely? Why don't you live with them?"
~
The family as a whole seems to fit perfectly into the definition of 'split,' as it refers to their modern and traditional quality. The television or computer are almost always on, the microwave is used occasionally, western-styled clothes are worn by the younger generation and white 'wonder' bread and some other very American-styled products are consumed now and then. Still, the majority is quite traditional. We partake in 'puja' (a prayer/mantra, frequently chanted to a particular deity over a shrine) and I'll regularly hear my host mother do the same over food she prepares or while doing laundry; food is nearly always made from scratch, the produce coming from vendors around the house and milk from their family's cow; the baby's milk is heated with a few herbs to aid in digestion; and most significantly in my mind, the entire family lives shares the same house, and can not imagine it being any other way.
It is fascinating to frequently witness behaviors that I would deem so uncharacteristic of one another being executed in one person. Maybe it is not so much the contradiction, but the unconsciousness with which traditional and modern behaviors merge. Eating a wonder bread/fake cheese sandwich...but always finishing with black salt (a useful aid in digestion). Or spending the afternoon watching television.....but never forgetting to take some moments to offer a prayer to the shrine before leaving for work.
I guess contradictions of people exist everywhere in the world- India or even an Ayurvedic family is no different. But my host sister is saddened by the modernization of India, reminiscing of the traditional ways of her own mother and grandmother. Modernization is rampant on a large scale- especially it seems if you wish to be distinguished as a well-to-do person or family. So many fearful thoughts are coming up for me about the sustainability of Indian plants/animals/resources if the reverence for traditional foods and ways are lost in the excited flurry to modernize; this topic could easily pull me into research in-and-of its self.
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