Culture Chaos : Stories of An Indian Abroad

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 listening.

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 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 listening.

After a long break, I am finally back. Please stay tuned for my episode releasing tomorrow!! 

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. 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 listening Update Description (https://audioboom.com/posts/7410858-eastern-gurus-sects-in-the-west-truth-or-scam/edit)

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 your feedback/review. Thank you for listening

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 community abroad.  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 listening Update Description (https://audioboom.com/posts/7379703-climate-change-sustainability-and-our-cultural-inheritance/edit)

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 these memories from the past and make a case for us to bring the best of the past culture and present scientific discoveries to build a live-able future for the coming generations.  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 listening

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 migrants a taste of their home, away from their hometowns.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 of the Indian education system which may have a role to play when it comes to Indians across the globe and their success stories.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 experience abroad? What's causing a reverse brain drain of sorts? For today's episode, we talk Brain Drain and look at the different conversations around 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 your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening! Update Description (https://audioboom.com/posts/7319154-season-of-long-weekends/edit)

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 to navigate life away from India. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or leave your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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? 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 adopting western names?  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 about the his philosophy when it comes to cultural identities.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 life away from India. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or leave your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 navigate life away from India. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or leave your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 leave your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

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 abroad or encounters with NRIS in a culture chaos episode, write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com. You can also leave your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Culture Chaos is just over a year old and in this time, I have opened my heart out with my stories and my chaos. This journey continues being amazing and the most rewarding part has been the emails and messages from you.  This episode is dedicated to your letters and a new special segment I am introducing. We all have a story and I want to hear yours.  You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com. Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of my experiences trying to navigate life away from India.  Thank you for listening!

From capturing your whole life in those point and click cameras, to the joys trapped in the juicy maze of jalebi. From the smell of fresh rains transporting you to the summer holiday evenings to the dizzying comfort of a boiling pot of hot masala chai - Nostalgia can come in the form of thousands of memories that are carried through sensory stimulants.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Most of us hold on to the comforting memories from our childhood days and feed on that nostalgia for the rest of our lives. In this episode I talk about how our five senses hold the key to all these nostalgic memories.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Pressure cookers are an inseparable part of desi households and this humble little gadget carries with it hundreds of years worth of stories which go way beyond just our culinary history. In this week's podcast, I bring some stories from my childhood, woven together through the whistles of the good old pressure cooker.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Before all the conversations about breaking the glass ceiling and fighting for equality even came into the picture - the desi women had learned that taking control of her destiny in her own hands was the only way out. From giving her family the perfect life, to contributing to the household finances - this woman did it all. There could have been no light at the end of the tunnel but she still found her way. This is the common thread in the stories of desi super heroins I saw all around me while growing up in India.  This woman's day - my episode is a tribute to all these women thanking them for making me realize what my true potential can be as a woman of this world.  Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of trying to navigate life away from India. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or leave your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

While the glamour of a life abroad and a promise of stronger relationships and happier marriages holds true for most of us, there is a another harsh side of this reality for a lot of NRIs too. Contrary to popular belief, NRIs too can be victim to domestic violence and for them -legal protection is a vague concept. This episode is an attempt to bring to light some of the more harsh realities of an immigrant and expatriate life and domestic violence is the topic of conversation.  Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of trying to navigate life away from India. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or leave your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

For some of us, nothing beats the joy of enjoying a sweet and crisp paan after dinner. The humble little paan could be nothing more than a few sweet condiments wrapped in a green leaf; but for some of us desis, this paan is a little packet of nostalgia and our childhood memories.  In this episode, I reminisce about paan walahs or panwaris back home and share some stories of how more pan shops are opening up in the west.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening! Background Music Attribution: Khaikey Pan Banaras Wala from the movie Don owned by Shemaroo.  Dessert City by Kevin McLeod via Youtube audio Library

Being a multi-linguist isn't unusual for a lot of us desis. In this episode, I share the story of how I came to speak 4 languages other than english and how my life growing up back in India made it possible. With the UN declaring 2019 as the year of indigenous languages, I reflect upon how regional and local languages all over the globe could be under a threat of extinction and we all could do our bit in preserving these rich cultures before its too late.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening! Background music attribution: Dharma Fire - Madhar - Sitar Jam by Andrea Mosca (Creative Commons License) ASMA band via Vijay Agarwal on youtube (Creative commons License)

There is a thing or two our nation knows about finding opportunities in adversity and against all odds. That is what India did with stereotypes built by the western media - whats more ? We not only found an alternate approach to tell our side of the story and break some of those unfair stereotypes, but we also almost bank rolled our way into it. In this episode, I share some of my insights about how we have been extremely creative and rather business savvyin our quest to destroy some of these stereotypes.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

While watching Uri this past weekend at a theater in Toronto, every NRI was in tears and the movie climax was filled with unanimous chants of Jai Hind. While films and cricket mostly dominate the expression of patriotism for those  of us living away from India, the boundaries of our sentiments for the homeland are not limited to that.  Whether it is the opposition to NRIs being able to cast their votes this coming election or it is questioning our ability to post a simple tweet about an event back home - the general sentiment about NRIs seems to be getting increasing bitter and restrictive.  So in this podcast, I share a view from the other side and make an appeal about going beyond the differences to recognize the fact that we're all seeds of the same crop and no one must get to call dibbs on the motherland.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

This December, our country witnessed the strangest obsession with with outrageous weddings but if you're thinking that the wedding wave is finally over, think again..because the NRI wedding season is just beginning and it promises to be a bigger and a gaudier circus with every passing year. In this podcast, I try to look into where the thin line is between extravagance and outrageousness and how NRIs are changing the Indian wedding industry. 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

What would our long distance relationships with our family be without video chats? This episode is dedicated to all the apps on our phones and computers that have stayed with us throughout our NRI lives and have magically transported us back home and our parents and them to us with every call, just like that.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

While immigrants and expats are more widely accepted than ever before, they all continue experiencing subtle hints of racism in their daily lives. 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

The festival of light is celebrated with the same spirit the world over but Abroad waali Diwali comes with a slight twist and in this podcast, I share how some basic diwali things can be a little convoluted for NRIs. 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening! Twitter: @culture_chaos Facebook: Isha Soni - Culture Chaos Podcast

Ever wondered why the humble papad is known by the complex and vague name 'papadom' in the west? If you have, than you aren't alone. Check out this week's podcast where I try to find answers about where this word really came from and how it became the new brand name of this humble desi crisp. 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening! Twitter: @culture_chaos Facebook: Isha Soni - Culture Chaos Podcast

The #MeTooIndia movement in India has opened a whole new set of dialogues which are finally approaching the issue of women's safety in the subcontinent and all over the world, with a progressive point of view. In today's episode, I share my take on this revolution which is storming our nation and on why it is important for our generation to ensure that these dialogues are carried forward responsibly.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening! Twitter: @culture_chaos Facebook: Isha Soni - Culture Chaos Podcast

Last week, I was able to visit my home in Mumbai after almost three years and my favorite thing during home visits is revisiting my old memories and giving myself a good dose of nostalgia before I get on the place to return back to my NRI life. This episode is dedicated to nostalgia and all those products that build the foundations of our lives and memories growing up back home.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening! Twitter: @culture_chaos Facebook: Isha Soni - Culture Chaos Podcast

A historic judgement was recently passed in India decriminalizing homosexuality. While this judgement was a long awaited step in the forward and progressive direction, I take a minute to question if it is time for us Indians to rejoice at #LoveIsLove just yet?  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

The thing about popular culture and its references is, that it changes faster than the seasons. From being the life of a party with my Bollywood treasure-trove of knowledge ready at the tip of my tongue to being completely clueless in conversations and not getting some of the most basic of jokes, comments and references without depending on urban dictionary. In the west, a FOB's struggle with popular culture is very real. In this episode, I talk about how I still fail to get most western popular culture references and crave for my meet ups with 'apne log' every chance I get!  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Contrary to common assumptions, Indian festivals are celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and pomp abroad and us desis don't leave any stone unturned when it comes to making a party out of our festivals. This podcast is a little sneak peak into how the mood is during the long festival season spread over the last 4 months of the year.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Life in the west definitely promises a higher standard of living than back home, but some luxuries that are so readily available in India, are unheard of in this part of the world. The one luxury that I miss the most is having a house-help or a 'Bai' to help around home and that's the topic of today's podcast.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Often for us immigrants and expats, the experience of living in a country abroad varies drastically from the experience of friends and families visiting the same country as a tourist. In this episode, I talk about how living in a country and seeing the same country as a tourist can be two completely different experiences!  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

One of the challenges of living in advanced North American countries is understanding how to navigate around the complex health care norms and finding ones way to an actual doctor's clinic. It is especially difficult when you go from extremely convenient and logically sound systems in a country like India to a place where getting an actual appointment to see a real doctor, without being sent home a bill of a couple of thousand dollars is a challenge in itself. In this episode, I talk about health care in first world countries might be umm... a health hazard.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

What is more potent? The concentrated version of something that is really tough to gulp down, or a watered-down milder version of it, which might be better suited especially for the first encounter with this spirit called "culture"? Todays episode looks at how immigrants have succeeded at creating milder, watered down versions of their cultures for the masses, and how this has helped immigrant cultures gain more acceptance after moving into different parts of the world.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

For the longest time, Bhagyashree from Maine Pyar Kiya was the poster child for the ideal woman in India. Over the years that has changed but the expectations from women continue blocking the path for a desi woman to be able to make her own life choices. In such a scenario, with ever evolving standards against which women are evaluated, what is feminism and where exactly do we draw the line in trying to balance the Beyonce and the Bhagyashee within us? That's the topic of this podcast! 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

As a desi abroad, if there was one thing you could do for your country today, try doing some very much needed PR and image management for your Country. I seriously feel the need to do it now more than ever before and this podcast talks about why all of us should really give this a thought. 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Being really impressed by the small talk and exchanging pleasantries with strangers every morning, I initially thought that making a connection with people in the west would come as naturally as it did with folks back home in India, but it's not quite the same. 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

One of the things people either applaud or mock about me is how after having lived in the west for almost a decade, have a not picked up an "American Accent". In this episode, I talk about my appreciation for the Indian english accent and for the way we have learned to speak english in our country and share my philosophy for why I will never really let go off it, as it is a big factor in representing who I really am! 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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Every desi living abroad develops his own weekend traditions. Traditions that reconnect him to his roots, traditions that bring alive his memories. This episode is an ode to all those weekend traditions and an appeal to all us to continue building them for the future generations to come.   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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

This father's day, an ode to our dads who play so many roles and transition with us at every stage of our lives with one an only one goal - to make us feel proud of ourselves. The sense of security that a father brings in his child's life stays with the child for their entire lives and thats the topic of my podcast today.  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!

Contrary to the offerings of a superior standard of living and convenience of life, sometimes in the west, getting access to some basics like repairs for the smallest to the most complex of equipments is almost impossible to find. If you have missed the access to cheap repairs in the west and eventually emerged as a jugaadu genuis yourself, than this episode is for you!  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 on iTunes. Thank you for listening!