I grew up eating rice and daal, palak paneer and pani poori. I grew up celebrating Diwali and Janmashtami and going to the temple in Hillsboro, Oregon for pujas and auspicious events. Going to an American public school, I also grew up taking history classes that focused on aspects of India like its demographics, colonial history and poverty. There were things I had learned from these classes and from summer visits to see family every few years, but after studying abroad in Bangalore for a month last summer, I realized there are some things that no number of textbooks could have taught me. Continue reading →