Culture is what defines a person. It becomes our identity. The country we represent and the culture we follow becomes an integral part of our personality. Living in the USA made me realize the importance of cross-culture.  I meet people from different countries. They have their set of values; they follow that country’s culture. And this gives us a chance to learnt expand our cultural curve.

 

 

In the Alphabet C post (lets talk about Gara. Is it just a cultural celebration in the west?), I shared a Chinmay Mission example. For today’s post, again, I am going to share another example from Chinmay Mission. And you will be reading Chinamy Missions’s mentions quite a few times in this series. It was on January 26^th. The 6^thGraders performed India’s National Anthem. All kids were in white. Girls wearing white salwar-kurta and boys white kurta-pajama having an Orange sash created the much-needed ambiance. Accompanied by their outstandingly sung Jana Gana Mana stole everybody’s heart. It was a proud moment of each and every parent seeing their America born Indian kids singing India’s National Anthem. These kids who have never attended any ceremony back home where they could hear or sing Jana Gana Mana created an environment that was full of patriotism and pride. But another thing that made me share this example is after India’s National Anthem was over, they didn’t stop. So, what did they do? Any guess? They continued it with “O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light.” These words are from America’s National Anthem. When the teacher told us the reason behind this practice, I was so touched. Since, these kids are being raised here, so we must teach them to respect both the cultures.

 

At school, kids get to mingle with kids from other countries. My kids have friends from all over the world. This teaches them to understand other cultures and accept them wholeheartedly. They know many things which may be similar to Indian culture. When they share this knowledge with us, our curve also expands. We tell them about what we know through reading and other sources. But their information is first hand. These experiences will help them in shaping their personality. Along with this, they also learn about Indian culture in depth. They know stories form Mythology and saints that even I didn’t know. I feel, seeing their curiosity, it gives us an opportunity to dig deep into Indian culture so that we can answer their questions and also learn and understand our culture little more…:)

 

Do you have any such experiences or moments that has given you a chance to expand your culture curve?

 

This post is a part of #BlogchaterA2Z. My theme is “Dollar Nation – Are you ready to experience the west through my eyes?”

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