Week 2

As I was reading the author’s thoughts and the responses of my fellow classmates, I think I can empathize a lot with those views. Growing up as a first generation to Indian parents, I experienced being an insider/outsider in both American and Indian culture. While I was born and raised here, I wasn’t an insider to traditional American culture, as my parents infused in me traditional Indian heritage. However at the same time as I went to school and grew older I adapted to and favored more of the American culture. Now as an adult I can see I am a byproduct of both these cultures, and that I can not be purely an insider or outsider of either of these cultures. For example when I go to India, my relatives and others treat me differently than my parents or natives of India. While this is due to their perceived difference of me because of my upbringing here in America, I think it is also caused by me as my viewpoints and understandings and comfort levels are obviously going to be different then theirs. In this way I can not be considered as a pure insider or outsider. Music is a prime example of this outsider/insider relationship. Music, classical and traditional for the older generation, and dance orientated for the newer generation, is an important part of Indian tradition. While the musical pieces sound pleasant to the ear, a lot of it is based on meanings in the context of life it is used for. So for me, I feel like I am both an insider in the sense that I am familiar with the music, but an outsider in the sense that I did not fully experience or can understand the context the musical pieces were designed for.

One example of music being just part of an event are the spiritual Indian festivals I go to. Here spirituality andreligion are the focal points, and the music seems to highlight those themes. The music sets the tone, and allows everyone to be more in tune with themselves spiritually.