Oh Baby Girl

Baby Sukhie

Yes, this is a line that is oft heard by many girls as they traipse through the streets of Manhattan. But I'm talking about something different, very different.

While men, often homeless men, are appreciative of the female entity, I cannot say the same for some Indians. Although it is 2011, it still seems crippling to me that people can still get upset when they are carrying or have given birth to a baby girl. My family has been recently "blessed" with many baby boys but when a girl is born it can sometimes be a major disappointment. Even certain holidays and celebrations, like Lodhi, are in the honor of the male-kind. Where is the love for my fellow sisterhood? And why in such modern times is it still a stigma?

In a recent trip to Baltimore, where most of my family lives, I think I may have found the culprit of this idiotic ideology. While talking to my uncle he was mentioning how one of his Punjabi friends was deciding between getting his daughter married off (via arranged marriage) or letting her pursue her academic career (and the girl had a full scholarship)! I was baffled and truly astonished, WTF is wrong with people?

Marriage is what's up. Marriage is the pinnacle of life for backward-minded people, while for me it's achieving personal success, if in that process I find someone to marry that would be great, but it's definitely not my number one focus. My uncle went on to state how he is worried about the future of his daughter and how it would ease his stresses if he could marry her off when she's 19. Mind you, the girl is eight and she was watching Hannah Montana during this conversation.

Although my grandmother may have cried when I was born (not tears of joy but rather in disappointment that I wasn't a boy), I'm happy to say that my parents have never placed marital pressures on me. But maybe I'm being too critical since most of the people who have those ideologies grew up in rural Punjab, where the more men the better, who doesn't love free labor? But I don't think it is fair to carry those same ideas when moving to a new country. This is the land of opportunity and the land can be cultivated by both men and women.

Left-my sister
Right-me

kulfi and krimpets

Kulfi

Kulfi and krimpets is my version of East meets West. Although it's an untraditional take on the phrase, it's my way of seeing the world, which many times is through my stomach. Kulfi is a creamy, milk flavored ice cream often garnished with pistachios. It is one of my favorite Indian desserts and a treat that I always pick when I go shopping at the Indian store with my mom. And my western approach is represented by krimpets. Those sweet little treats that I adored when I was younger don't taste as great as I once thought, but Tastykakes Krimpets have always reminded me of my childhood.

Although kulfi and krimpets overly simplifies the complexities of my life, it's a way to represent two major components of it. The mixture of American and Indian ideals have played an integral part in shaping me into the person who I am today. My love (and hate, at times) of certain aspects of both cultures will be explored through this blog. I have found that taking bits and pieces of each culture make for an interesting life. Although not everyone may understand certain components of my life, including myself, it makes for great stories and moments that I want to share. This is my journey, navigating through two different cultures and at times two different lives, while trying to enjoy each and every moment of this splendid life. 

Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets