Ethnicity Tag: I'm off to India!

A long time back I mentioned I had a specific post planned - and here it is!

This week I am heading to India!!! So excited! We usually go every 2-3 years because ALL our extended family is there. This year it just so happens that we also have a wedding in the family - my cousin is getting married :)

Guys, Indian weddings are honestly the most epic experiences, I'm so excited to share as much as I can with you!


The clothes are a major part of why I love weddings :P


Anyways, when we do go to India we go for about a month because we travel all over the place to spend time with family, pretty pumped to blog all about it when I'm back!

Until then, for the month of December I do have scheduled posts ready, but I may be a bit more absent in the blogging world in terms of commenting (don't be surprised if you get spammed with notifications from me in January, sorry not sorry :P).

[UPDATE: I won't be uploading posts in December 2015 and will see you all in the new year ☺️]

However, to celebrate my upcoming trip I decided I would do an Ethnicity Tag post to get to tell you guys some more! :)

I am so blessed to have an Indian background, I love the fact that I know where my background lies and I feel like it's so important for people (especially younger generations) to be aware of where they're from and embrace that!

I am so proud of my culture and country of heritage, and as an outsider (having been born in Australia but travelling back to India) I get to have the unique perspective of seeing all the beauty in the culture and also recognising the struggles and things that need to be overcome.

Let the questions begin!

What is your Ethnicity?

Haha so many people joke that I've got some Persian and Greek in me, which, hey! I'm not complaining! :P 
Truthfully though, I am 100% Indian.

When was the last time you visited your country?

The last time I visited India was two years ago, after I finished high school and normally all our trips are so family-oriented that we don't explore India, but last time we made a point to cover some Tourist-y sites!




And we also got to explore a very popular hill station in India that has a massive lake in the middle of it. It also happened to be where my mum went to college, not a bad view for college I think :P




Name one ethnic food you enjoy the most.

SO MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM. Indian food is amazing!!! Haha, so I'm definitely gonna say chicken curry, cause how could you not?



Via

Some lesser known food dishes that I love are:

Kadi (which is almost like halfway between a curry and a soup, it's slightly sour, but completely delicious!)
Via

Kulfi (I always call this indian ice-cream - because it essentially is! It is sweeter than usual ice cream and is often garnished with a sprinkling of pistachios and almonds).
Via

There are honestly SO MANY, I can't even remember all of them right now. And the thing with India is North and South India are so different, which means two totally different sets of food dishes!

One of my favourite South Indian dishes is dosa - it's like a thin, savoury crepe, stuffed with spiced potatoes, served with almost like a masala soup and chutneys, and it's just YUM.


What part of your country are you from?

My mum is from this small town which is closer to the Himalayan Range side of India, called Pilibhit. I just ADORE going to mum's hometown, I can't really describe the feeling - it's just so, so lovely to be there. It's so grounding and I think because I am so close to my mum getting to be where she grew up really means a lot to me! :)

Via

What song reminds you of your country?

Guys, India is the homeland of Bollywood, and if you haven't seen anything Bollywood before - it's epic! Haha. Legitimately all Bollywood movies are musicals, so I have a lot of choice. They are most definitely incredibly cheesy, but they are so fun to watch! Haha. I've even gotten my friends into some movies :)








Desi girl, the video just above, means indian girl, and man this song is catchy! Haha.

Can you speak the language of your ethnicity?

Can I speak it? Yes. Fluently? Debatable. Haha. So, when I wasn't around my family used to go to India for even longer periods of time so my brother was able to fully pick up the language - by the time I came around my brother was in some of the higher grades of school, so when we went it was for shorter periods.

I legitimately learnt Hindi from watching Bollywood movies with subtitles, haha. Resourcefulness for the win! I can understand the language pretty completely, my speaking isn't at the exact same level but it's definitely quite decent now!

All my cousins speak really good English, it's more so my aunts and uncles that I need Hindi to communicate with.

Name one household item that best represents your culture.

A diya (a lit candle, more so an oil lamp with a cotton wick in it) is a form of blessing.


Almost every morning the diya is lit in our household, and it is an integral part of all auspicious occasions/ceremonies. They have deep spiritual and intellectual significance. It signifies knowledge and how all that we do in our lives should be governed by knowledge (dispelling ignorance and darkness). Lighting the diya signifies that we know that knowledge is the greatest form of wealth.

It is purposefully not just an electric light or bulb (although these would also remove darkness) because:
The oil in the lamp symbolises our negative tendencies and the wick symbolises our ego. When lit by spiritual knowledge, our negative tendencies (oil) get slowly exhausted and the ego (wick) too finally perishes.  Because it's a wick and the flame burns upwards, it implies that we all strive upwards towards the right values and higher ideals. Illumination of the mind, soul and spirit.

I love diyas, because they represent enlightenment, hope and prosperity.

 
Anyways, really hope you guys enjoyed reading this little bit more of a personal post of mine! ☺️
I'm sure I will be posting some photos of my trip throughout on my Instagram , but hopefully there will be one or two pretty posts for you guys to look at in January!

New blog post will be up next Tuesday!!! 

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Or follow me below at - 
They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

Have a great rest of the week!

❤️Raashi



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34 comments:

  1. India looks absolutely AMAZING! It's a dream of mine to travel there one day, but I'm guessing that won't happen anytime soon. :( I'm OBSESSED with Bollywood music and dancing (I've taken a few classes lol) and I'm amazed by the incredible food, traditions, dress, and overall culture. I'm so intrigued by your culture and background! It's seriously so interesting!! It's so cool how you can stay there for a month or more and have lots of friends and family to see, and that you can pick up on the language again so easily! Anyway, I hope you have an amazing trip! I can't wait to see pictures and more posts! xoxo

    Caroline | carolinevsworld.blogspot.com

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    1. Caroline! That's so epic that you've taken a few classes, my friends love Bollywood music and dancing too! I hope you get to travel here one day, it's definitely an experience to say the least :P I always have such respect for non-Indians who travel in India because it is 100% a bit of a culture shock :P That being said it is such an incredibly beautiful and interesting culture :) Thank you so, so much Caroline - excited to show you guys lots of photos - and fashion and food! :)

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  2. Oh my gosh, I loved this post soooo much! Can't wait to hear about your trip to India, make sure you take lots of photos! :D <3 Hope you have a fab time, and I've really enjoyed reading about your culture and heritage. :) Indian food is my absolute favourite, it's so delicious and flavourful. :) My favourite dish would have to be vegetable pasanda - it's the yummiest thing in the world, and just thinking about it is making me really hungry. :P <3 Thanks for sharing, dear, this post was a joy to read. <3

    Kay
    http://shoesandglitter.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. Thank you SO much Kay, such a lovely comment <3 Oooh you have good taste! Excited to catch up on all your posts soon Kay! :)

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  3. You look so stunning girly!!

    http://xoxobella.com

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  4. Have a fabulous time Raashi!! I can't wait to hear all about the wedding when you're back! I'm sure it'll be amazing. Really enjoyed hearing a little bit more about you and your background in this post too :) M xxx

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    1. So lovely of you Miranda, thank you so much! :)

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  5. Great to find out more about you and such gorgeous photos too, thanks for sharing!
    Hope you have a fantastic time in India, and enjoy your cousins wedding
    Can't wait to hear all about it (and see lots of pictures) when you get back!

    What Raj Wants

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    1. Thank you, Raj! That is so, so sweet of you! I've definitely taken my fair share of photos already :)

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  6. That's so exciting! Have such a good trip. Can't wait to see tons of pictures when you get back :)

    Laura

    http://thefoxtrails.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you, Laura!!! Excited to update you all! :)

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  7. That is so amazing! I've always wanted to visit India (more so because my mom LOVES Bollywood movies so she made me watch them with her haha). On the photos it always looks so colorful and full of happiness!
    I love your dress and I am looking forward to your photos ^^
    Also, I really like the symbolism behind the diya, it is good that you are connected to the Indian culture, a lot of people forget where they come from which is so sad. I am glad that you know a lot about your roots and that you visit India often :)

    P.S.- The lake in front of the college?? Talk about the Harry Potter vibe :D


    aluminah.wordpress.com

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    1. Haha, that's amazing Rory, so cool about your mum! It is definitely a very bright and vibrant culture. Awww thank you, Indian outfits are definitely one of my favourite parts of our trips :P Thank you, Rory - I feel very lucky that I was able to be involved in and learn about my culture even though I was born in Australia.

      Haha, right!?! Pretty cool if you ask me! :P

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  8. Omg Raashi, being a fellow Indian, I absolutely loved reading this post and can totally relate to everything in it, apart from the indian movies, I don't watch them a lot haha! And I'm so jealous that you're going to India, I haven't been in over 10 years but I will one day! Have a safe flight to and from India and of course, have a lovely time, which I know you will! Can't wait for your posts on the trip ♥

    tipscapsule.blogspot.com

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    1. Haha aww, yay! I'm so glad Trishna! I haven't watched a new indian movie in SO LONG, it's kinda bad, but I do love the classic ones. Bollywood dance and music numbers are epic! Haha. Aww wow, it's been a while for you, hey! I hope you get to go soon as well <3 Thank you SO much Trishna, you are too sweet! :)

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  9. It was nice reading this! Interesting ♥

    summerdaisy.net

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  10. Glad to hear that your headed here. Have fun at the wedding and during your stay too Raashi. Will await your outfit pictures :)

    xoxo - Style.. A Pastiche - Fossil Watches

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    1. Thank you so much, Chaithra!!! Definitely excited to be here, and will have to get some of my family to take some outfit photos from the weddings :P

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  11. What an interesting post! I think Indian weddings must be so amazing, so I'm looking forward to your post about it when you return :)
    xx
    SASHA

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    1. Aww thank you Sarah, I'm excited to share it with you all! They are an experience to say the least!

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  12. Ah how exciting! I found this so interesting, it's really great getting to know more about different cultures and what they mean to other people. Can't wait to see all your photos, these ones are stunning! xxx

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    1. Thank you SO much Lucy, that is so, so sweet of you! <3

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  13. Such an amazing culture and I'm glad to read you are fond of it! It is always good to embrace one's culture!

    Heba xx || The HebaBloglovinInstagram

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    1. I feel quite lucky that I've been able to truly experience my culture as much as I have! Thank you for reading, Heba! :)

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    1. Thank you for reading, Alyssa! It is such a diverse country, always very interesting! :)

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  15. I loved reading this! I adore how much you embrace your ethnicity and I love the clothes and all of that food looks delicious!
    I have been forgetting a lot of my parent's language over the years which makes me really sad, but whenever I hear someone speak it I weirdly feel connected to it.
    I hope you have the most amazing time in India! I can't wait for your posts when you're back!

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    1. Rose, thank you so, so much - that means a lot to me! The clothes and the food are definitely two of my favourite parts of Indian culture as I'm sure you'll see in my post-holiday blogposts!

      I feel like I can relate to that a whole lot, I feel like regardless of how effectively people can communicate in their second language (if they have one), it's part of their heritage and they'll always feel connected to it in some way :)

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  16. I love when you talk about India and your personal take on India. I just think it's so cool and exciting to hear about. Love you Raa Raa, hope you're having a good time! ��

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    1. Love you fifi, so, so sweet! I always love discussing these things with you! :)

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