Monthly Archives: March 2015

City culture vs. suburban culture

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Lately, I’ve started noticing a lot how different our demographics affect our upbringing. For Schreyer scholars, our biggest struggles are getting an A on an upcoming test, but for other people, their problems may not be bigger but they sure are on completely different plans. For example, when I visit my friends in city schools, a lot of the university towns are similar to any college campus, but as soon as you enter the local community, its so much more different. In cities, people are concerned about their safety, their expensive housing, among other things. When I visit home in the suburbs, I hear my mom talking about how someone asked everyone to bring way too much food to the potluck, and how its unfair for the host to be cooking the least food at a potluck. When I hear that, I think, do these people not have ANY bigger problems in their life??? And then when I see people in the city working at food trucks making their living, I think, how can these people even find a way to live??? I find it overwhelming that we’re approaching real life so soon, and wow, I could not be more thankful that my biggest problem is getting an A on the next test, because that means I’m privy to an education, a luxury that some people just don’t have.

Anyway, it is interesting to see the different cultures, and their problems, and what our eventual contributions to the world will be. I am inspired to write this post because Kendrick Lamar, my favorite rapper/musician/artist just released a new album “To Pimp a Butterfly”, which is about is overwhelming new fame. He came from Compton, CA city south of Los Angeles where a few rappers have actually come from (Tyga, Dr. Dre, Schoolboy Q, N.W.A) and a lot of their music is inspired by the cultural differences between the black and hispanic gangs in this city. Now, I will take the disparity of multiculturalism and boil it down to this city in California. Kendrick’s second album “good kid, M.A.A.D city” is lyrically genius. good kid, refers to Kendrick, a kid with good intentions, in a “Mad city” which makes him do crazy things. M.A.A.D also stands for “my angel on angel dust”, which is PCP, which is apparently the scariest drug on the streets. He finds solace from the crime through God, actually, and is why he refers to angels in the title as well.

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I know rap is hard to get into for a lot of people, but if you go on rap genius (explains each lyric) and look through all the songs in this album, its amazing poetry. My favorite is money trees. In Compton, the culture is to be born into your gang, and hate the gang you’re suppose to. It’s a lot like Romeo and Juliet. Kendrick was born into the “Pirus bloods” gang. This whole album is about the struggle of how his gang makes him throw up their signs, and pledge allegiance to its values like drugs and crime, but he finds solace in his actions with his connection to God.In this song, he talks about how they’d “go at a reverend for the revenue”, which means they would mug or steal from a reverend because that’s how desperate they are. Later on, he says “halle berry or hallelujah//Pick your poison…”, because he sees halle berry, or a life of spoils as nothing fulfilling, but salvation in the darkness of compton as impossible, so both futures are like “poison”. This whole song is about stealing money from people with his homies, but he battles this bad with finding salvation through God. In the last verse he says “them serpents lurking [for] blood//Bitches selling pu***, niggas selling drugs, but it’s all good”. This is a play on words referring to the Garden of Eden that serpents are also in Compton tempting the bad out of people, which he explains with that next fruitful line.

City Compton California Considers Bankruptcy oLfdkMpOnGKl

Can you imagine living in a place where no other culture but the one you’re born into is respected? Kendrick found solace by writing music and finding inspiration from his predecessors like Tupac and Dr. Dre. I have noticed how vastly different everyone’s problems are, and someone like Kendrick really sheds a light on just how much multiculturalism lacks in low-income places. In this case, it manifests as a fight between two gangs. Who even knew gang culture was prevalent anymore! Rappers do take steps to stop their childhoods from happening to other people, though, because for example in the song maad city, kendrick says how when he’s in the crips’ streets, he hears “yawk, yawk, yawk” on the street as a warning, which he has schoolboy q (previous crips member) sing. Even their friendship is enough of an influence to instill a small change in Compton.

Anyway, this post has run way over, but another one of Kendrick’s moving pieces is Keisha’s song which doesn’t concern multiculturalism much, but it’s about rape and the horrible life that this poor girl has to live to support herself. Listen and read to be moved!!

I’m seriously so confused about the Kama Sutra…

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So I’ve been kind of confused about this for a while, because India is a VERY conservative country. I’m sure you have heard about the recent film “India’s Daughter” which was banned from playing in India. It highlights the horrible rape culture that is inherent there in many rural parts. It may have been outlawed because it gives women some importance, but also because it could promote more angered violence against women, for which I see the logic in banning it. It’s mortifying to read what these people wrote. In 2012, the rape case in Delhi was sensationalized, and there’s an infamous interview with the bus driver, Mukesh Singh, who simply kept driving as the boys who dragged this girl onto the bus took turns. Can you believe that? “Took turns.”
Stories like these seriously concern me about this patriarchal, and misogynistic society. I mean, it exists much more mildly than this in America. Recently, the PSU frat KDR’s illicit facebook page of women’s naked pictures posted without consent rocked waves in national news. They are frankly treating women like cattle encouraged by the unfortunate misogyny that has existed forever now (quite literally). Wherever we are in the world, the culture exists. It has changed now so that at least women are able to vote, and women are able to work, etc, but there is a double standard when it come to sexuality.
In the interview, Singh said “You can’t clap with one hand – it takes two hands. A decent girl won’t roam around at night. A girl is more responsible for rape than a boy … about 20% of girls are good.” My only response to this is “WTF”. Yeah, it is unsafe to roam around at night boy or girl, but only a girl has to worry about this act of violation at night. Anyway, this girl wasn’t even alone. They beat up her male friend before they could get to her. I don’t understand what could have motivated a group of people to act so horrendously so much that they had their original goal in mind, that they beat up a friend to get to a girl to drag her onto a bus and “take turns” on her. There has to be some real, messed up logic that can motivate someone to so meticulously commit a crime. I really hope that in the time I’m alive, I can make some change.
In India, this sort of misogyny is instilled in very rural communities from the minute someone is born. Proper education is one way to fix this problem, because in those societies, even women accept their role as “less than man”. Often times the caste system is also enforced in these rural places, and there is some correlation with a “lower caste” and poverty. Therefore, to begin with within the caste system, these people are considered to be of little worth, and with that, women are considered to be value-less. Perhaps its this ideology driving this messed up logic.
So back to my original blog post title. Why does the kama sutra exist in Hinduism (Which 90% of Indians practice)? If women are so degraded, how can sexuality even be safe for them? In my next passion post, I’m going to research this more. I want to see if this patriarchy started, or is instilled, because a religion that promotes sexuality is not the basis for a misogynistic society. That’s a logical fallacy. So, readers, I know this was kind of heavy, but I’m sure the next post will be a little more interesting.

The Festival of Colors

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I don’t know if you guys saw, but there was a snapchat story for “Holi” in India the Friday before Spring Break (March 6). Holi is an annual festival, but the date on the gregorian calendar changes every year because Indian holidays go by the lunar calendar. This year it fell in early March, so it was too cold for me to celebrate with friends and family over break, but India had a lot of fun.

from https://vikasacharya.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/holi-the-festival-of-colors-india/

from https://vikasacharya.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/holi-the-festival-of-colors-india/

Holi is the ancient Hindu festival of colors that celebrates the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair ruptured relationships. Holi also has a symbolic value because it celebrates the Hindu legend of one triumph of good over evil.

Courtesy of my Insta from a few years ago

Courtesy of my Insta from a few years ago

Side note – the Hindu religion has many stories, as do other religions so this story is just ONE of many but it happened to manifest as a holiday. I wanted to say this to avoid confusion that the people in this story are the only people involved in Hindu history.

Holi, is short for Holika, an evil sister of an evil King Hiranyakashipu. “According to legend” this kind had been blessed by a spell that made him indestructible, and with his immortality he grew arrogant and commanded everyone to worship him like God, which he was not. His own son did not stand for these evil ways, and was loyal to Vishnu, an actual Hindu god. At one point, evil aunt Holika “lured” the son to “sit by a fire” and somehow ended up burning herself, and at that point, the king was vulnerable enough for Vishnu to get rid of him, making good triumph over evil. The color is for enjoyment and play with friends and family. Really, this festival just means to spread some good vibes! I mean, all of India on one day is literally throwing powdered color at each other for the entirety of it. And no, this is not like the color run, the color run is LIKE Holi. The colors have a spiritual purpose.

From https://vikasacharya.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/holi-the-festival-of-colors-india/

From https://vikasacharya.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/holi-the-festival-of-colors-india/

The snapchat story pained me this year because I really wish I could’ve played with friends and family! I’ve only been in India once when I was really young, because I had the choice to skip school for a month, but now that I’m in college, it seems the only time I can be in India for Holi is after I graduate. I have spoken before in my blog about how India spreads such good vibes and spirituality, and a day dedicated to playing with color is exactly why I love it so much! Literally anyone on the streets in your neighborhood is your friend, and there’s a cloud of color everywhere. In America, my family friends try to celebrate but it will never compare. However, I am glad to have found such close friends my age who I can share these first-generation immigrant moments with. We love America and the perspective that it has given us, but we love to celebrate our ethnic traditions as well!

Holi in America with my good friends. I miss you guys!

Holi in America with my good friends. I miss you guys!

Reflection on other deliberation

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The other deliberation I decided to attend was about high stakes testing and a discussion about if we really need them. It was at Websters last Thursday by students from Cynthia Mazzantes class. To be honest, the only reason I went was because it was the only one at Webster’s I could attend and I figured they’d have good refreshments.

Which they did...

Either way, this deliberation hit home for me because I went to an IB school, and we had NO multiple choice tests. Our process was more valued than our answer (which I think SHOULD be the case!), and it makes me mad how I take 3 15 question multiple choice tests in physics that somehow prove the fact that I do or do not know physics. I had the same frustration over the SATs. I was happy that this deliberation enlightened me on some of the sad truths about high stakes testing. Because I’m a science major, I am very focused on the content of a test, and not the implications. Meanwhile, the business majors in the room spoke to the college board business, and how its been around since 1926! The associate dean of student affairs of schreyer, Mitch Kerschinski was also in attendance, which was a nice perspective when us students started going off on more of a rant than a deliberation. The three approaches were 1) Keep the test, but what can be done in schools to help prepare for it 2) change the use of the test (instead of such a heavy emphasis on admission, it will be a factor) 3) Get rid of it. I had figured something like Webster’s would lend itself to a deliberation but its chairs were very cluttered and it actually made it harder for each mini team to get around. They were flustered to begin with, but I only thought team 1 had a very structured and specific approach. They asked us what we thought the test is used for, and what helps people do well in the test. And from there we discussed how the approach to the test can be changed. Approach 2 and 3 were very practical and focused much less on the implications and more on the execution of WHAT can be done, which I didn’t really like. For example, it was more like “Okay we’ll teach more geometry in high school. Then people will be able to take the test.” I think it made sense to discuss implications first, because in theory each approach is executable. I think the real problem is the TEST and how its worded etc, not the INFORMATION on the test.

Also, we didn’t have a “difficult one” attend ours, but there was one sarcastic member that just did not stop talking about his personal stake, but I do think the moderator handled this well in just simply asking a question over top the rant that was inspired by another question. I did like the deliberation though, because I developed a new perspective on the test. At one point we all shared which test we took (ACT or SAT), which one we thought was easier, and which one we did better on. A majority said that they liked the ACT better but scored worse on it, probably because they “prepped” more for the SATs. Now recently, the SAT has changed the test so that it took out some content but did not change the way it tested the person. The method is still the same. This brings up two points.

First, we discussed how the only time we will encounter SAT-like questions is during prep and during the test, and this speaks to the fact that the SAT is a private sector and most schooling is public, making it easy for the SAT to not test “aptitude” but to actually test students on how specifically they know the SAT. Also, because people like the Act better, they changed the SAT to essentially make it easier, but now that its easier, the bottom of the curve will move up while the top will continue to max out, so perhaps colleges will put less of an emphasis on it. I do agree that colleges need a stream lined way to somewhat get rid of applicants, but based on the approaches, I ended up agreeing with 3 in that the test needs to be changed, in 2 that the colleges can’t put a great emphasis on it, and 1 that if it does change, schooling will help students with the test and reduce the “prep” industry. It was an interesting conversation, and I’m glad I attended.

Indian food!

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My mom's mom's side of the family owns somewhat of a farm, and this food is the most natural and delicious it gets. During winter break, I literally watched the people pick the tomatoes, lemons, and wheat off the farm and cook it into something delicious.

My mom’s mom’s side of the family owns somewhat of a farm, and this food is the most natural and delicious it gets. During winter break, I literally watched the people pick the tomatoes, lemons, and wheat off the farm and cook it into something delicious.

I love Indian food, and I miss it so much in college. No offense, but the dining hall food is pretty bland. When I was at home, I did get a little sick of eating the same food every day, but I would honestly take that over anything now. Every time I go home I always bring back food to eat for lunch and dinner because I miss it so much! I was browsing around Facebook the other day, and found an article explaining the “science” behind why Indian food is so good. I do agree that the taste is very bizarre and unfamiliar for people who have never had it, but I guess there is a science to flavor. I don’t cook very much, but it looks hard, because every time I try I have no idea where to start.

There is this nifty chart that explains how certain flavors may overlap, but its really hard to read. Either way, good thing scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology in Jodhpur did the research. Here is their actual research. They analyzed popular Indian recipes and all their flavors. They actually found that Indian recipes had the least amount of over lap between their flavors, which maybe proves why they are so delicious, or at least intriguing flavors? Who ever thought you could quantify flavor.

Either way, here is a good example that the article explains. Take a recipe with 4 ingredients: coconut, onions, chile peppers, and spices.

Four ingredients

If you’ve ever taken a stat class, this graph tests the commonalities between the chile and the coconut.

flavor overlap

Basically, they found that if a recipe has a certain flavor, it is very unlikely that it will have another flavor in the same group. Cayenne is a curry base in a lot of Indian food, and based on this study, the curry base would only be created by ONE spice that contains cayenne. Red curry, green curry, and massaman curry is all relevant to a curry base. From personal experience, I have always experienced green curry, and thats just because of where I’m from in India. I’m from the West coast so the food is less gravy-based and more fried and dry. It’s weird to think how usually when making or conceiving an idea for a dish, you would think to combine similar flavors. But Indian cuisine is quite complicated. Apparently the average dish contains 7 ingredients, and based on this study the ingredients don’t mix. Like the other day I ate strawberries and nutella, but I guess that’s not suppose to taste good??? IDEK, I’ll probably go eat more of the combination today. Either way, this was quite an interesting study!

I can’t wait for spring break. I now need to think of all the foods that I want to eat that week. This post has made me FAR too hungry. But until next time!

~~~ Apurva