India is a captivating country full of humble traditions, lively festivals, and honest beliefs. With over 2 billion people, India has a vast array of religions and languages with Hindi being the most popular. The Hindu culture is a culture of love, respect, honoring others and humbling one's own ego so that the inner nature, which is naturally pure and modest, will shine forth (Mailerindia Infotek Limited). Hindi is a kind and peaceful religion. It is only fitting to combine a temperate religion with a humble society of people. Indians were raised to treat their elders with respect and to always be humble to guests. Strangers will great you with the utmost benevolence and friends will invite you into their home and make sure you are treated like royalty. However, once families have decided to immigrate to America, these traditions and customs can become endangered.
People of all different religions and races find that America is the best place to immigrate to so they can earn a better education and more money for their hard work. Indians are among the most educated and wealthiest subgroups in America so most don’t have a hard time finding jobs and earning good pay. In a study of the impact of emigration from India, Mihir Desai of Harvard University found that 1 million Indians lived in the United States in 2001 (Gerdes 14). Since 2001, there have been reports that this number has more than doubled though still the majority of all Indians practice Hinduism. Hinduism is the practice of worshipers who continuously strive to be liberated from evil spirits while practicing the worship of deities. Hinduism refers to a vast array of religious movements. Unlike religions “of the book,” there is no single authoritative text and no re...
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... Immigrant Soul.” Writing On The River, Ed. Jessica Portz. Second Edition Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 112.
The quote that I chose from this story helped me to prove that all morals and beliefs are endangered when you move into a different environment that you aren’t use to.
Rishi. “The Meaning Of Culture.” Mailerindia.com. Mailerindia Infotek Limited. MAILERINDIA.COM. , n.d., 2 April 2012. .
This website gave me a really good quote to use in my essay pertaining to the genuine nature of the Hindi culture.
Williams, Amy and DePaul, Amy. “The Rise Of Arranged Marriage In America.” AlterNet. n.p. 9 August 2008. Web. 3 April 2012.
“The Rise Of Arranged Marriage In America” was an interesting article in which I obtained valid points on how arranged marriages can be beneficial within specific cultures.
According to the author, Lizette Alvarez, in the article “Arranged Marriages Get a Little Reshuffling”, Arranged marriages are better than modern marriages and parents can choose good mates for young. First, the arranged marriage has changed a lot in modern time. Arranged marriages are more flexible because young people can meet several times in some public venues without family members. Parents and elders have become more lenient. Second, arranged marriages have more advantages than modern marriages. Arranged marriages can preserve religion and identity and help people to find their mates in the same social class. Arranged marriages can outlast modern marriages because couples can avoid social and religions disharmony. Finally, young people prefer arranged marriage to modern marriage. Young people would spend less time to find their mate because their parents, chat rooms and dating websites help find mates for them. Young people can easily find their mates who have the same education level and social status. As a young person, I do not agree with the author because other people migh...
Epstein, Robert, Mayuri Pandit, and Mansi Thakar. "How Love Emerges In Arranged Marriages: Two Cross-Cultural Studies." Journal Of Comparative Family Studies 44.3 (2013): 341-360. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Mar. 2014
Prior to 1917 several forms of Hinduism arrived in America. A small number of Asian Indians were allowed in the United States during 1820, however most Indians came in the 1890’s. Indian Immigrants were lured to North America by commercial transporters with the promise of work on the Canadian Railroad (Charles Lippy & Peter Williams 685). Other than the Asian Indians coming directly to America, Indians from both Mexico and Canada eventually crossed legally or illegally into America (Charles Lippy & Peter Williams). Hinduism even gained popularity with non-Asian converts. Hinduism appealed to young, middle class Americans that have not yet married. (Charles Lippy & Peter Williams 690) Yoga and meditation practices are what appealed to most Americans interest. Meditation is described as paying attention selectively, while yoga is a form of meditation ...
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
As Indians living in white culture, many problems and conflicts arise. Most Indians tend to suffer microaggressions, racism and most of all, danger to their culture. Their culture gets torn from them, and slowly, as if it was dream, many Indians become absorbed into white society, all the while trying to retain their Indian lifestyle. In Indian Father’s Plea by Robert Lake and Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, the idea that a dominant culture can pose many threats to a minority culture is shown by Wind-Wolf and Alexie.
How American culture is different from Indian culture and what are pros and cons of both cultures.
Why do Indian college students have high dropout rates? Why do Indian college students have hard times in college, and university atmospheres? Why do Indian college students have difficult times when it comes to making good grades? Maybe it’s because they have no role models in the home. Maybe they can’t relate to individuals with different cultures and backgrounds? Perhaps it is something simple as having poor study habits. The answers could Possibly be that Indian college students are just uncomfortable in a college environment, and don’t have an Indian studies program to go to, as in Reyhner’s essay. Whatever the reason may be Indian college students are scarce within the college scene, just as Indian people are in the United States of America.
Schoenberg Nara, A surprising new look at arranged marriages, August 22, 2012, Tribune Newspapers, retrieved from: http://articles.chicagotribune.com
Even though my Catholic upbringing played a huge role in shaping my identity, it was not my only identity. As Hall states, “We all have multiple identities” (Hall, 107). I am a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, wife, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, student etc. those are my multiple identities. My Indian heritage also has played an important role in defining the person I am today. The values and beliefs I learned from my parents were taught to them by their parents and passed down from generations and is deeply rooted in my Indian culture. The Indian culture is called a “Collectivist culture” (Josselyn, Mod. 1) where you are taught to place the needs of others before your own. It teaches you values such as to be generous, helpful, dependable, and attentive to the needs of others (Josselyn, Mod 1). Although this culture has its pro’s it also has its con’s. For example, Indian wives are expected to place the needs of their husband and family first, which meant no sharing of household responsibility between the husband and wife, which may have been practical in the older days when women were full time house wives, but in today’s day and age with workingwomen this can quickly result in a burnout and cause detrimental health effects. So despite the good values I learned from my Indian culture and carry with me today and one day pass it on to my children, I do not agree with all the Indian
“Arranging a Marriage in India” by Serena Nanda is a well written, informative article aimed at sharing the view of the Indian culture on arranged marriages and also showing how much effort is put into the process of arranging a marriage. Our own culture has evolved into accepting the fact that we are all independent individuals who could not imagine having someone else make such a significant decision for us. Serena Nanda does an excellent job of using her sources within the society as evidence of the acceptance of the arranged marriage aspect of their culture.
India’s culture is very diverse. One may call it strange, weird, or even bizarre. The culture of India includes: different types of rituals, dances, jewelry, languages, people, and different customs. India’s culture is very beautiful and distinguishable. From rituals to languages the culture of India is amazing and full of life.
For my Anthropological observation study, I will be writing about my culture which I will be familiar with since I have a greater understanding. And also I will be able to analyze some aspects based on my observations that I have received throughout my life. I was born in Srilanka in a Hindu family and lived there for twelve years, until I came to Canada. I would like to write about Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus, that I have observed so far in Srilanka and Canada. I will be focusing on family relationship and social life. In this essay Ill argue that Tamils culture has changed in Canada over time and why it is important to adapt to a new culture in a different country.
When it comes to the topic of marriage, different cultures have different customs. Some of these customs have changed over the years and some have stayed the same. One type of marriage that interests me is arranged marriage and why there are arranged marriages still going on today. That is why I have chosen to write about them in this paper and discuss why they were/are an important staple in certain cultures.
India sits in the middle of the scale and can be considered both individualistic and collective. There is great need for belonging to a bigger social framework. In Indian culture family is highly stressed. They strive to increase and preserve their family’s riches, by working hard in order to maintain the family’s dignity and insure the longevity of their offspring.. On the other hand the individualistic aspects of Indian culture are influenced by the major religion in India, which is Hinduism. Hindus believe in reincarnation where past lives are seen as affecting and determining the present life, as a result of this individuals are responsible for how they live their lives and how that will impact their next lives. Since aspects of both individualism and collectivism are present, India scores intermediately in this dimension. (Cultural tools, n.d.)
Siva, Manu. Difference in Cultural Values. India Today (20) 3. 45-48 Retrieved April 03, 2006