My Voice

{video project exploring Indian culture and its perceptions}

Each society has its own specific culture, ways of life and identity. Some societies strive to maintain and preserve their traditions, language/s, and values. India has struggled to keep its identity and practices that are unique to the country. But the current trend of urban India is to change the traditional social values — reflect and model the West so they can be accepted globally as a more progressive society. The West defines India with religiosity and romanticism. The Western social culture is slowly changing and growing. It is trying to accept and learn the Indian way of life resisting local mentality and education. 

My Voice video project is an exploration of my amalgamated identity — a voice of an Indian American woman, mother and artist who has lived and adapted herself despite being marginalized and stereotyped. It examines my everyday struggle defying to fit into a set cultural framework, trying to preserve Indian values in my daily life for not only future generations to embrace, but also for others to better understand, accept and respect other cultural identities living in the West. 

It has six chapters :

• The first chapter is an introduction or a setting of the stage to understand, accept and respect other cultures. 

• The second chapter shows how India is perceived in the West — the misconceptions of religiosity, languages, poverty, and of course, Bollywood. 

• The third chapter depicts how the West is perceived by India. The West is seen as being free, glamorous, land of opportunities and choices.

• The fourth chapter shows how Indian women see themselves. It compares them with Indian women living in the West who have adopted Western culture.

• The fifth chapter talks about my personal life — how I have adjusted, learned and accepted a new culture, and how the two cultures intertwine.

• The last chapter shows my attempts and struggle to keep Indian language, values and traditions for generations to embrace and how one should perceive and see beauty in other cultures.

  + Thanks to my friends from the Bloomington-Normal community for collaborating with me. {Project from 2007–2008}