Simple Gifts for a Dinner Host’s Family Posted by Nitya on Jun 30, 2018
Let’s say you are currently on a business trip in India and an Indian colleague invites you over for dinner भोजन का आमंत्रण (bhojan ka aamantraN) with his family. No matter where you are in the world, it is not only polite to take a giftउपहार (uphaar) for your host, but it is also a great way to…
Catching the Local Lingo Posted by Nitya on Jun 24, 2018
While grammar, sentence construction, and vocabulary have their place in learning a new language, they often fall short during actual experiences in the country. Local slang, dialect, and idiomatic phrases play a good part in shaping understanding of fleeting encounters or local conversations. In previous blogs (Idiomatic Phrases and More Idiomatic Phrases) we took a look at…
Indian American Cuisine (Part 2) Posted by Rachael on Jun 23, 2018
In last week’s blog, I talked about the sheer plethora of Indian restaurants in the Indian diaspora (or places outside India where Indians have immigrated and which they have transformed into Indian cultural hubs), how Indian American cuisine is different from the type of cuisine you may commonly find in India and about some appetizers…
Indian American Cuisine Posted by Rachael on Jun 16, 2018
Last week’s blog focused on how to order in a restaurant, either in India or wherever you live, as the Indian diaspora has graced countries across the globe with its delicious and varied cuisine. This week’s blog will focus on Indian American cuisine specifically or, put another way, Americanized Indian food that is popular and…
Cooling off in an Indian Summer Posted by Nitya on Jun 13, 2018
The summer months गर्मी के महीने (garmi ke maheene) in India are both good and not-so-good. They are good because they bring with them the season of the luscious mango आम (aam). However, once the mango आम season मौसम (mausam) or आम का मौसम (aam ka mausam) ebbs, the sun gets hotter and the hot summer wind लू (loo) gets unbearable. People resort to a variety of means for…
Fine Dining in Hindi Posted by Rachael on Jun 8, 2018
When visiting India or even trying out your local Indian restaurant here in the States or in the many other countries across the globe where the Indian diaspora has made a home away from home, it will be immensely useful and admirable to be able to speak in Hindi. If your servers are Hindi speakers…
Welcoming a Baby Posted by Nitya on May 31, 2018
There is a hardly a happy occasion in India that doesn’t call for the distribution of sweets मिठाइयाँ (mithaaiyaan) — the birth of a baby बच्चे का जन्म (bacche ka janm) is no exception. In many places, and also where I grew up in cosmopolitan Mumbai, if you are offered पेढ़ा (pedha) by the joyous family, then you can safely infer that a…