Culture Chaos

Among a lot of things that the world can learn from India other than the rich culture is how we Indians use the scarcely available resources wisely. No, we don't have an abundance of resources and the supply is never high enough for the demand. But we all co-exist. In this episode, I talk about the some common practices followed in our desi households which, if the world adapts, could prove so much more sustainable for our planet. From bathing with just a bucket full of water instead of showers to making use of waste fabrics available at home instead of paper towels, Indians live a life with minimal waste and thats something the world must learn from us.  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!

Going abroad and making a life is difficult on us but it is even more difficult for our loved ones who don't have any control or say on our lives and decisions. In todays episode I share some stories about how winters are especially harsh on the elders back home and how they can get really consumed by their worry for us. 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!

Finally having the dream realized, one lands abroad - in a new city, probably a whole new country; thousands of miles away from home. We are usually prepared for all the practical aspects of resettling but what about the things that we weren't really prepared for? Moving away from the home country also means moving away from friends, family and all things that we hold close to our heart. How then does one acclimate himself to a new city and embrace the new life? In today's podcast, I share some tips from my experiences of my first weeks of resettling.  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 last week before we are set to leave our home town is unique in many ways. One feels a variety of emotions ranging from excitement to fear and sorrow. It is an interesting time since dreams await us and we leave behind a part of our soul in our home towns. In this episode, I share my experiences with the last week before one is about to move to a new city or a new country.  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! Music Courtesy of Chris Haugen via Youtube Audio Library- Creative Commons Photo by Mantas Hesthaven from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-pulling-luggage-walking-near-gray-concrete-road-during-sunset-171053/

This episode looks at challenges that a parent and child both face as they immigrate from their home countries to the west. In this episode, Trisha Sakhuja, CEO of Brown Girl Magazine, joins Culture Chaos in a phone interview and shares memories and stories from her childhood. Trisha helps us shed light on how parents and children both need to find a common ground in holding on to their culture and assimilating in the country they now live in. Check out more episodes from Culture Chaos where I share stories of my experiences trying to navigate life away from my home country. You can write to me at culture_chaos@yahoo.com or leave your feedback/review on iTunes. Thank you for listening! Music Courtesy: Youtube Audio Library That Kid in Fourth Grade Who Really Liked the Denver Broncos by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/uvp/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

"American Dream" and "London Calling" are just some of the phrases we hear in popular culture when someone describes their career goals. Bollywood, TV and some real life success stories tell us that professional life abroad is the ticket one needs to realize ones career goals. But what is professional life in countries like US, UK or Europe really like? In this podcast, I talk about the professional dilemmas of expats who are on a temporary work status in western countries and how being bound to a visa limits their choices and opportunities. Music Courtesy: Facile by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100858 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

The first week of moving out of India and stepping foot in US is one that is often full of strange realizations and rookie mistakes. You realize that from the food to fixtures in your house, from the cars on roads to human interactions with people on streets, everything works in a system which is almost the opposite of what you were used to. In this episode, I discuss my experience of realizing how some systems were completely opposite to what I was used to from my life back in India. Background music: Italian Morning by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

NRIs or non residential Indians are often hated on in their home countries for several reasons. Getting trolled online or during a conversation, for commenting on an occurrence back home is becoming more common by the day. With this podcast, I question this hostility towards people going and exploring opportunities in different countries and why we cannot be united as a country on basic logical concepts.  Background music-  The 49th Street Galleria by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Cover photo courtesy of Clem Onojeghuo via pexels.com

Those trips back to our home countries are not only a sensory overload but they are an overload for our tastebuds and for our heart and soul. In this episode of culture chaos, I reminisce about those annual trips back home, the feeling of hearing the honking horns and breathing the air of our homes. I share my experiences about times spent with family and the royal treatment given to us by our childhood friends. Trips back home are indeed special.  Background Music: Clear Air - Somewhere Sunny by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100626 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

As immigrants and expats, the experience of spending the first holiday season in a new country, especially in the west can be overwhelming in many ways. In this podcast episode, I describe my journey with the holiday season, with my first Christmas and how it is now one my favorite times of the year. This episode is also a special Thank you to my listeners who have requested to me to share some of my experiences with the holiday season in America. Cover Picture courtesy of Keith Bacongco via wikipedia Background music courtesy of xXx Workout Music HOUSE via Youtube (creative commons license)

In countries outside India, english is not really a high browed snobbery as it is at home. I find the obsession of us Indians with english language and accents stupid and in this episode, I am trying to talk about the pointlessness of this obsession. In polishing the spoken language and trying hard to replicate accents, we are slowly losing out on the core of communication and also on the heritage that is in our regional languages. With this podcast, I share my experiences with english language when I left home and the meaning of this language to my cultural identity.

Visa is often a major reason for concern for someone who moves to another country. The nature of this visa stamp is such that we cannot travel as we want. We are often bound to the timelines and the long waiting lists that these visas have. In awaiting these documentations, we are often tied from making trips back to our home countries and these restrictions can get really life altering for some of us. In this episode, I talk about the dilemmas that a lot of us Desis feel when it comes to the reasons for us moving abroad and being bound by these visas. Background music: Meditation Impromptu 02 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100162 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Being a foodie, I rediscovered my love for Indian cuisine after I moved out of my home town. Homesickness and confusions associated with adapting to a new culture made me realize how essential those familiar flavours and aromas from my Indian kitchen were, to my sense of being. In this episode, I talk about my journey with food and try to reach out to some misconceptions about immigrants and their culinary habits.

Social Media, some say has made the world smaller, reduced distances and connected people over large geographical locations and timezones. I love it for the access it gives me and and the possibility of keeping in touch with my friends and family who are all living in different parts of the world. But has social media taken up more space in our lives than we can control?

Arranged marriage is often shrugged off as an ancient and backward practice which intimidates a lot of people. In this podcast, I talk about my marriage which started as an arranged marriage and what it means to me. Check out this podcast about why I don't find arranged marriages scary! Music: Courtesy of Indian Diplomacy Channel video Bismillah and Benaras via Youtube.

Impressions in media is the first podcast from my podcast series called Culture Chaos. In this episode, I talk about my experiences of reality of life in the US vs the impression bollywood had created in my mind. I also question some of the sterotypes hollywood and bollywood both are used to working with.