MY CULTURE PROJECT By Ira

I AMMy name is Ira. I was born in America. My

parents are from India so I am a mix of Indian American culture.

MY CULTURE ELEMENTS My culture is Indian. My native language is Marathi belonging to state Maharashtra

in India. The national language is Hindi. The transportation is Cars, Bus, Train, Auto Rickshaw and

scooters. The nation game is hockey and cricket. Other games that kids play like marbles, guilli danda and

bebled (top). The house’s are made out of bricks. Because it is hot there,

the flooring is tiles. Our traditional dances are Kathak, and Bharathnatiyam. The national and traditional holidays are Diwali, Dassera, Holi,

and Gudi Padwa. The food I eat is Chapathi, Rice, Rasmalai, Kulfi, Gulabjamun. The traditional dress is Salwar Kurta, Kameez, Saree, Ghagra

Choli, Mangalsutra, Bangels, Bindi.

LANGUAGE I speak in Marathi language with my

parents at home and families in India. When I do my schoolwork, I talk in

English. Me and my sister mostly talk in English

but when we argue we speak Marathi. I can also speak Hindi. We speak in hindi

with all my parent’s Indian friends. But I talk in English with most of my Indian friends.

I am learning to write Marathi and Hindi.

GAMES We play American games as well as

Indian games at home or with friends like soccer, Uno, carom board.

FOODMy mom cooks Indian food everyday. I

also bring it for lunch to school. I like Indian food. Sometimes I eat American or Chinese food.

CHART…Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Days

FoodChapati&curry

Rice & curry

Rice & cholay

Chicken Curry&rice

Samosa& pulav

Paneer&Paratha

Pulav &paneer

CLOTHES

We wear our traditional clothes only on festivals and special occasions. Our daily wear is American clothes. We like

to dress up and look beautiful.

RELIGION My religion is hindu. We have Mandir

(temple) in our house. Where we have statues and pictures of our gods. We pray every morning.

My mom and dad light a diva(candle) and essence stick everyday in the temple.

We also decorate our house with pictures and statues of god.

People have faith in god. We also put a miniature statue of god in

the car to drive safely.

SUPERSTITIONS AND MYTHS Some of the superstitions are- Black cat

crossing means you won’t get your work done that day.

If you hear crow cawing it is a sign of guest coming to your house.

Lemon and chili-keep evil spirits off, breaking coconut before starting any good work is a good thing.

Cow is worshiped on most of the festivals. You will see most of the animals are with

gods in the pictures and statues. Some of the trees are holy like banyan tree.

GODS GODDESS AND RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS. (SARASWATI, GANESHA, SHIVA, OM, SWASTIKA)THE GOD ON THE LEFT IS THE MEANING OF MY NAME.

TRANSPORTATION

Bus Auto rickshaw

The cheapest and commonly used transportation is auto rickshaw, bus, and trains.

BIRTH-DEATH After birth, the baby is named in a

special religious ceremony at home. The name is decided by the horoscope, birth-chart.

When somebody dies, the body is cremated (burnt). After 12 days there is a ceremony called “Shradh” (similar to memorial service). On that day we make favorite food of the dead person. Light candles and offer flowers to the photo of the dead person.

LAGNA Marriage is like 3 to 4 days celebration which

is Mehendi(henna), Haldi, wedding and reception. Both bride and groom families come together at one place for this event.

Everybody wears traditionl and formal clothes. Bindi and a neckless (mangalsutra) with black

beads is a significent like a ring here. 7 phere around the sacred fire are 7 promises

made by bride and groom same like vows here.

THE COMMUNITY The Indian community is more public

and social. People in general spend time with their family and friends then by themselves.

People get together in groups during festivals and social gatherings.

Most people stay in joint families having 3 generations.

Education is very important and teacher (guru) is very respected equivalent to parents, because they shape the life of a student by their teaching.

ARCHITECTURE I have visited many Indian temples. I have also visited the Mahabaleshwar

fort which was one of the many land and sea forts built by King Shivaji, a 16th century Maratha king who fought many battles with the Britishers for ‘swarajya’ (freedom) .

FESTIVALSWe celebrate Holi, Dassera, Diwali,

Ganesh Festival, Gudi padwa.

TRADITIONAL STORIES Ramayan Maha Bharath Hanuman GanpatiThese stories are about our hindu gods.

Shivaji Maharaj- the Maratha king who united the state of Maharashtra and fought against the British and Mughal invaders. He also formed the first Navy in Maharashtra.

LIFE IN THE FAMILIY I think family daily life is same as an

American family. We have same routine for school days

like we wake up in the morning, have breakfast, go to school or work, have dinner and read in the night.

On weekends we go the temple, shopping, cleaning the house, watch movies, play with friends and call our grandparents and relatives in India.

THE INDIVIDUAL In our culture children live with their

parents till they graduate and in some cases till they get married. Parents take care of them and kids are suppose to take care of parents till their old age.

In India when we meet our friends/familiy we say “Namaste”.

Sometimes we touch the feet of an elderly person to show respect.

Depending on the person you would stay and chat or you carry on with your work.

ARTS Marathi folk dance is Lavani and Koli

dance. We listen to Hindi and Marathi songs at

home and in the car. But sometime we listen English songs. We watch both Hollywood and

Bollywood movies.

MONEY... In India currency is called “Rupees”.

When you do household chores you do not get paid.

When you get paid, the persone is responsible of the family so they would give some of their money to the family.

10 Features of American Culture Is this how I feel?

Yes No Sort of

Value youth & beauty: VOGUE!

New is better, change is good

Optimism: BE HAPPY! They lived happily ever after.

You can be whatever you what to be: I want to be a rock star!

Success = money Success = what we own

Speak your mind!

We’re informal: Come on in! Have a cookie!

We’re friendly & open: Hi, how are you today?

Equality

We take risks, we’re innovative/creative

CONCLUSION. According to the research I did about my

culture, I am 80% Indian and 20% American

I got my culture from my parents. I was born here in US but my brain is more

Indian because of the things I do. I see my culture with a blue lenses here in US but I see American culture with a green

lenses because I am more Indian.

THE END!