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The World of Indian Sweets Posted by Rachael on Feb 21, 2018
Although many Westerners complain that Indian sweets are “too sweet,” I have luckily never had that problem. With a sweet tooth stretching back generations in my family, when I discovered Indian sweets, my culinary world expanded tenfold! Below I’ve curated a list of five of my favorite sweets with short descriptions accompanying each. Enjoy! Peda…
Family Stories (Parivaar ki Kahaaniya) Posted by Rachael on Feb 20, 2017
Most people enjoy listening to stories (कहानियाँ/kahaaniyaan, fem. plural noun. Singular noun: कहानी/kahaani) about their family (परिवार/parivaar, masc. noun), and I am certainly one of those people. I especially enjoy listening to my parents’ stories of when they were younger and, when my grandmother was still with us, I loved hearing her stories of growing…
I am Human, Just Like You (Main Insaan Hun, Tumhaari Tarah) Posted by Rachael on Jan 29, 2017
Following the events of this week, I thought it would be relevant to share a song that celebrates unity and peace. This song, entitled “जानेवालो ज़रा, मुड़के देखो मुझे/Jaanevalo Zara Mudke Dekho Mujhe” (Passersby, Just Turn and Look at Me) is from the 1964 movie, दोस्ती/Dosti (fem. noun, friendship). The film centers on the close…
In Honor of Women (Naariyon ke Samman Me) Posted by Rachael on Jan 24, 2017
Hello everyone/नमस्ते सब लोग (Namaste sab log)! My apologies (मुझे माफ़ कर दीजिए/Mujhe maaf kar dijiye, please forgive me) for not posting the previous week (पिछले हफ़्ते/pichle hafte)––I became very busy (व्यस्त/vyast) with other work, but now I’m back to talk about a very topical issue (मुद्दा/muddaa, masc. noun)! This past weekend, I participated in…
The Intoxication of Music (Sangeet ka Nashaa) Posted by Rachael on Jan 3, 2017
First of all, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year/नया साल मुबारक हो (Nayaa Saal Mubaarak ho)! Over the past four months, it has been my pleasure to share with you my musings about Hindi language and culture, and I’m extremely grateful that you’ve joined me on this journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed…
नये वर्ष की शुभकामनाएँ। Posted by Nitya on Dec 30, 2016
Naye varsh ki shubh-kaamnaaen. Best wishes for the new year. Over the past 4 months, we have read of different situations in daily Indian life, heard conversations around them, and learned related words and vocabulary. We learned to introduce ourselves अपना परिचय देना (apna parichay dena) as well ask for directions, go to the doctor, or appreciate…
A Question of Caste Posted by Rachael on Dec 20, 2016
In a recent Hindi movie called NH10, two characters, one a highly educated advertising executive named Meera who is originally from Bangalore, and the other a rural policeman based in the largely agrarian North Indian state of Haryana, have a compelling exchange: Policeman (पोलिस वाला): चलो, आप अपनी caste बताओ । (Chalo, aap apni caste…