The Indian cuisine truly is marvelous. The spices are unique, and the flavors are immaculate. I may be proud of my culture and its elements now, but I wasn't always.
The story I’m about to tell is all too familiar to Indian children. I remember being in elementary school and having my mom ask me what I wanted for lunch. Tired of the usual lunches, I wanted something new, so she suggested I take some tikhi bhakri (spicy flatbread) with rice. I immediately shut it down because I was not going to be known as “the curry kid” or the kid with smelly food. The one time that I did take lemon rice to school, everyone asked me what it was, why it smelled different, and a million other questions.
Like any other Indian kid, I was embarrassed by my food and essentially our culture because I didn’t want to be different.
Looking back, I laugh at how dumb I acted about this. The irony is that as an adult, I have to have Indian food multiple times in the week, or my week isn’t complete. I mean rice and dal are literally my comfort food.
So, why is it that a cuisine that is so well known today and craved by millions outside our ethnicity is something that us Indian kids were so ashamed of and often bullied for?
Why Does This Happen?
What I just explained is actually an example of culture shock. Essentially, most of us have grown up in a pretty Desi household in that it was mostly traditional, and we were mainly exposed to the Indian culture. As soon as we started school, we suddenly didn’t know how to fit in or even retain our culture. I mean Darwin said it best: “adapt or die.” While our school experiences aren’t as extreme as evolution, all of us had to in some way evolve our mannerisms to fit in with the crowd. It shouldn’t be this way. Children need to be taught the importance of other cultures and in general what diversity is, so that the next time an Indian kid brings his or her ethnic food for lunch he or she won’t be interrogated for it.
The Best Cuisine? I Think Yes.
For those of you that have ever marveled with the Indian cuisine, you know it’s good. I mean the variety of spices in our food is what attracts other cultures to mimic these flavors. Any site that ranks the best cuisines of the world always includes this one. Today, Tik Tokers and food bloggers such as Shreya’s Kitchen are successful for showcasing Indian food in unique ways. She is just one of the many influencers on social media who are using their platforms to create dishes that blend the Indian flavors with recipes that we all know. Indian food is finally starting to get the appreciation it deserves, but there still is some work that needs to be done on our end by learning to embrace our culture.
What's There To Be Ashamed About?
Our culture was and still continues to be misunderstood by others and even by those within it. In TV shows and movies, Indian food is still represented as “curry” when this one word doesn’t even begin to explain the unlimited options of this cuisine. Growing up in the States, I went through a period where I became Americanized because I thought that if I listened to Bollywood music, brought Indian food for lunch, or even wore Indian clothes that I would be weird.
Now, I’ve come to greatly appreciate our diverse culture and am proud to show that I am a culturally rich Indian-American.
So many of my non-Indian friends are eager to try our food or can’t wait for my wedding just so they can experience my culture. What's also amazing is that within the Indian continent, there are numerous regional cuisines which bring their own elements into play: Gujarati, Punjabi, South Indian, and so much more. The diversity of our cuisine is truly astounding. Therefore, only when we accept our truly beautiful and diverse culture can we expect others to do the same.
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