The Beginning

Indian Culture

This blog will explore Indian culture from the perspective of an Indian, Ranjani Venkatakrishnan, and an American, Sarah Hunt, two freshmen college journalism students at ASU, who met in their English 105 class. We will introduce you to different Indian events (festivals and rituals), culture, lifestyle, clothing, food, and many more aspects related to India.

We hope you enjoy the journey as we share our experiences through An American Learning Indian Culture.

Sarah: I was born in a small town in the Bay Area of California during a busy and exciting time in my parent's lives. My dad had just finished school and we moved back to Arizona for work. I grew up in Maricopa County, Arizona. I have always had, even just somewhat of an interest, in adventure. I began to develop a liking to Indian culture when I took AP World History my sophomore year in high school. We learned about several different countries, and it was interesting to learn about cultures other than my own; how people, even though we all started out the same, could live completely different lives. One I enjoyed in particular was India. Their bright apparel, close relationships with family and friends, and legacy of story telling was inspirational. I decided through English classes that I wanted to write about people and their stories, because everyone has a different story to tell. I wanted to discover adventures that were not in the culture I was used to. And through my church, I decided I wanted to combine it all with humanitarian aid, and write about my trips helping people. When you help others, it forms a special bond, and they will open up and tell you things that are unfathomably incredible. Documenting the human experience is my small contribution to history that I hope will continue to inspire others to make connections and reach outside the comfort zone. If you never try, you'll never know how your life could have been different, and most importantly, better.

Ranjani: I’m from Chennai, the capital of the South Indian state Tamil Nadu. I was born in Chennai, but my family moved to the US in 1999 when I was a year and half old and I’ve mostly lived in Dallas, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; and Plano, Texas (we moved around a lot because of my dad’s job). In May, 2008, I moved back to India because my parents felt education was better there and my grandmother needed us to take care of her. So, from 5^th to 12^th standard (it’s called standard, not grade, in India) I studied in Chennai. It’s interesting that by my 18^th birthday I could say I have lived exactly half my life in the USA and half in India! Growing up, I had an interest in becoming a doctor, but I was frightened of the immense competition in that field so I decided I would not be a doctor or engineer. In 10^th standard, I realized my passion for writing and did some research on the internet to find out what ambition would suit my interest. Since then, my heart has been set on becoming a journalist. My goals as a journalist are to travel the world and write about different place – the cultural aspects as well as the lifestyle. I hope to learn and show people not only the magic of the different cultures that surround us on this small planet, but to bring people together by showing them we are all the same. One day I hope to make a difference in the world – however small – and be remembered.