Americanness III - Indian Groceries...

A surprising title to this post. Well, it is about the concept of Indian groceries in the US of A. This can very well be extended to Persian groceries, Turkish groceries, etc. The concept is the same. My being more familiar to the delicacies offered by the Indian cuisine, inspires me to discriminate between the various grocery options available here.

For the uninitiated alien, the newcomers to the US (say, me 3 years ago), all the prices of Indian foods seem totally alien. Isn't it ridiculous to shell out close to 4 USD for a ready-made bhel puri mix. Imagine, a whopping 200 INR, for something that would be available for 10 INR in India. But then, one tends to generalize. "Money is not everything. Why should one miss out on what the taste buds are used to?". It is an altogether different issue, if this would help alleviate or aggregate the inexplicable homesickness.

From what starts to be ridiculously high prices, one gets to better appreciate their pricing with the passage of time. Direct conversion doesn't help at all. For people in India, my own relatives and friends, it is a matter of shock that I need to pay 100's of INR to get basic essentials, which most of them would have taken for granted. Say, toor dal, channa dal, rye, jeera, methi, chilli powder, masala powders, garam masala, ready-made mixes, pickles, and what not.

Such is the lure and seduction of the sense of smell, and taste. One might go and try out the most exotic of cuisines. But then, finally, an Indian could find the greatest peace in having a simple meal of sambhar (known as lentil soup in American circles), rice (the Indian equivalent of the oriental variety), dhahin (amazing curd, available here, loaded with the richness of cream and fat), and the simple pickle. For the non-rice types, say, paratha, curd and pickle.

Such a peaceful dinner would amount to say, 4-5 USD. Wherever you go, whatever you eat, you end up shelling more. So, despite the fact that we end up paying 250 INR for a simple meal, it could be considered money well spent. The mind is a clever instrument, that is capable of bending all rules and degrees, when it comes to justifying anything. With a mere paradigm shift, the beautiful becomes the ugly and vice-versa.

And, importantly, shrewd people loaded with great business acumen and sense have rightly noticed the huge potential in the concept of Indian groceries. Be it the shop-keepers themselves, to the entrepreneurs, to the middle-men. But then, isn't life all about being opportunistic, and utilizing the opportunities that come knocking on one's doors.

PS: What is rasagulla or gulab jamun for the Indian, it is the baklava for the West Asian. In a land, where, anything about one's home country is enough to rise the nostalgia and the fervour in all of us, one doesn't object to paying more to have these "essentials", so as to lead a life as normal as one to the one's in the home country (well!!!, atleast when it comes to food).

The Concept of an American Family...

Images, Illusions, Concepts, Unjustified Assumptions. That's the way we all are. However, my experiences of being a passive spectator to the ways of the American family has been highly enligtening to say the least. This post is again based on my limited experiences only. One need not agree with this post in entirety. Read at your own risk.

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The West is looked upon as a free society, where people are free to exercise their free-will. And in most cases, when it comes to relationships and physical intimacy, divorces, one-night stands, threesomes, "swinging", teenage sex, single mothers, old-age homes, etc. are "okie" if not all right. One often tends to generalize and it might not be completely wrong to assume that the concept of a family is not that important in the American society.

Compared to the family concept in the East, (read India, for the author is not in a position to make comments on the other countries), there are stark differences. This post is not to meant to be a denigration of either of the two societies. It is more to highlight the strong well-rooted concept of a family, that does exist in America. The author would not want to delve into the intricate comparisons between the West and the East and elaborate on the Indian system.

Some of the key concepts are enumerated below:

• Public displays of affection

It is all right for a couple, to walk hand-in-hand or kiss in public. It is considered a natural extension of their intimacy and an expression of their own selves. Neither is it taboo nor fashionable. The world merely exists and they are not bothered as to what the world thinks. To some, it might seem to be a case of arrogance or mere patronising attitude.

"Across the pale parabola of joy", it is definitely all right to live for those transient moments of joys. Summers in Minneapolis, makes one severely "outdoorsy". The author has seen couples going on walks, jogging runs, biking, canoeing, fishing, sitting on bench savoring the presence of each other in silence admiring the ways of nature, etc. etc.

However, the guilt factor of my intruding on their privacy does seep in.

• Quality time with children

An entire family, consisting of the husband-wife, daughter, son, go on a bike ride, one behind the another. There have been days when the family is on the beach of one of the so many lakes in Minneapolis, swimming; or trekking in the so many dusty natural trails around. The children love these outings and the happiness in evident in their faces.

For the working fathers and mothers, time after office is meant to be with their children and themselves. They are rigorously punctual to office, often, come early to leave early. But after they leave, rarely do they even think about the office. Weekends are meant to be with the family.

On a similar note, the author has seen familes pay a visit to the Public Library. The children are encouraged to read story books, and also borrow educational DVDs. A healthy atmosphere and the public libraries are "free" (courtesy the state tax we all pay), and usually stock an admirable collection of books (Surprisingly, Enid Blyton is missing).

• Vacations

I have known people planning on their vacations for 2-3 weeks with their family. It is a must every year. The entire family looks forward to it. Often, the places are not exotic or the busy cities of America. Privacy and natural outdoors are what appeal to them, say, hiring a wooden cabin in some national park.

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This is not to mean, that the author finds these qualities missing elsewhere. This is meant to highlight the unjustiable nature of our generalizations when it comes to people. Like mentioned before, it is not that those other elements, bordering more on the experimentation and prurient side of life, are absent.

Americanness I - Coffee...

A series of posts - complementary to the Indianness articles, about life in America. Does the concept Americanness exist.

I must admit when it comes to my ignorance about the delights of various types of coffee. Having been brought up in a family with "filter coffee" as the norm, all these talks of cappuccino, frappuccino, latte, mocha, machiato, espresso, and the likes were confusing. There was that fear of public ridicule for not knowing the basic stuff about coffee. Heeding the recommendations of friends, willingness and daringness to try out new varieties, prompted me to simply go ahead and give them all a sip.

Starbucks, with its presence everywhere, in the US was, is and would be the experiment station. This is not to mean that India wouldn't have offered me the means to sample such varieties at Barista's and Coffee Day outlets. Let it suffice, that the author was not in a position to experiment then. Since the experiments are being conducted in US, this post is being included under the section "Americanness". Purists might claim that coffee is not american. That way, there is nothing called American - for US is veritably a country of immigrants that has embraced many cultures and traditions to come up with its unique blend. Further, agreed that most of the terms and coffee varieties are of italian origin.

So, the bottomline is, out of fear for what others think about our ignorance, we might not end up clarifying. So, ignorance just piles up and at times, it does become late to go back and ask. But then, I did finally summon the courage to ask a petite barista of the fairer sex (beautiful can also be an adjective to further qualify the lady), as to what these varieties meant and how different they really were. She was kind and courteous enough to reply. Moroever, she added that it was their duty to enlightenten the world (read people like me) about coffee.

Cappuccino is 1/3rd foam, 1/3rd espresso and 1/3rd milk. Latte contains more milk and less froth than cappuccino. Frappuccino is truly american Starbuck's version of frozen cappuccino. Mocha includes cocoa. Espresso is the pure shot. People who serve coffee are known as Barista's. There is a Barista club. Barista's are commanded to take pride in being Barista's. There is this exact temperature and pressure to be applied to make the espresso. How a lower temperature might end up making it sweet and the higher temperature sour, or vice versa (not really sure).

The post on the Indian Coffee can be found here.

July 04...

The land where people of a certain kind are termed "Aliens" celebrated its I-day today. The non-aliens were at their patriotic best, and such feelings were highly contagious. So, we (the aliens) celebrated the I-day too.

Independence, is too neat a concept and importantly is worth every bit of our support, no matter where we may be. May all of us find the "real" independence to do what we really want to - be it personal, academic, professional, spiritual, or whatever.

PS: a real short one, courtesy Ammani's influence?? :)