Welcome to our new series All Around South Asia! Once a month we will be interviewing our followers from different regions of South Asia so we can share their culture with all of you! For our first post we are exploring the Telugu culture in the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana! This week we interviewed Jayeesh Chennupati who is a freshman at the University of Virginia! Learn a little bit about us too since we are both Telugu too!
Growing up in America do you feel like you were still able to connect with your culture/language, if so how?
Jayeesh: Yes, but no. I usually found a lot of my friends to be Indian because we had similar mindsets and experiences in America. Yet, I never truly found my connection to my heritage and culture till I met one of my friends who enjoyed making conversation with parents and attending functions such as pujas or celebrations which I would abhor going to. And after that experience, going back to India in ninth grade, let me truly understand what being part of my culture meant. I fell in love with the dirt behind my apartment, the closeness of communities, and other things. I loved having a strong connection with the people who meant something to you, even though they might not be relatives at times.
Shreya: I was born in India, and I moved to the US when I was about 3, so I was taught from a young age to appreciate my culture. However, when I lived in Indiana, there weren’t that many Telugu people around. When I moved to the area that I currently live in, I realized that there are so many people from the same area of India as me, and many families that also spoke Telugu. I think the older I got, the more I actually understand my heritage. I really believe that relating to friends has helped accept my Telugu background.
What is unique to the region in India you are from?
Jayeesh: I don’t know what’s unique to my region, but in my community we have a cinema theatre which isn’t like the imax ones. It’s dusty, not the best audio. But I still love going to movies there because it’s a five minute walk. And you can get the glass soda bottles, the fritters for only 20 rupees, and just five minutes outside of the theatre there are peanuts, coconut or sugar cane juice. There’s also a vegetable market and a temple close by all within walking distance. So, you feel connected to your surroundings. One thing that might be unique to my region is that we go to a place called Tirupathi to offer our hair to a god and my uncle told me it was a sign of humility. I like that definition and I recently did go bald after graduating in high school to offer my hair even though I didn’t go to India.
Shreya: I’m not sure if this exactly is unique, but I love how important family is in Telugu culture. I have a big family on both sides, and I was always taught from an extremely young age that family is always first. Every weekend in India, I would always be meeting my entire extended family, and I’m very happy that I have a close bond with my family.
What do you dislike about your culture?
Jayeesh: I don’t think it’s that I dislike my culture, but more of how we carry ourselves as Indians. For the people we know and have had shared experiences with back home, we’ll be there for the good and hard times. But to strangers, we treat them a lot worse than how a person should be treated. Also, it’s somewhat hypocritical in India that we value the Earth as a goddess and as a thali (mom). However, the pollution whether it be in the sewers, roads, or in the air is very prevalent. The holiest rivers have a lot of trash too. It’s our job to treat the Earth with the respect a goddess and mom deserves instead of demanding more and more from it as a little child. Another thing is that what I learned in my culture is that we always have to respect our elders. I agree that what our elders say should be taken into consideration. However, some of the times it feels like respect means submission to their viewpoint, which can be tough to advocate for yourself sometimes when the things they’re suggesting might not be the best thing for you even though they have the best of intentions. Lastly, looks. Whether it’s skin complexion, body composition, or other things, it seems that’s the only topic of conversation. And that can be really demoralizing. Everyone is beautiful in their own way.
Shreya: There’s nothing I necessarily disliked, but I did dislike the unimportance South India is given as I grew up. I often pushed my “jealousy” into hatred for my culture because I thought it wasn’t fair that no one knew anything about my culture. The older I grew, the more I understood that this was a real issue, but instead of being angry at the world, I decided to help my Non-South Indian friends learn about my culture.
Were you ever embarrassed by your culture and if so how did that change?
Jayeesh: “I don’t think I’ve ever been embarrassed with my culture. I usually embarrass myself by being normally me and I hung out with other people who were similar to me, so I didn’t feel different most of the time. There was this one time where I brought in a jamakaya (similar to a guava) which made the whole room apparently “stink”, I loved the smell. That was in third grade and made me really embarrassed but other than that I usually don’t get embarrassed.”
Nikitha: Although Jayeesh never felt embarrassed with his culture growing up, a lot of South Asian kids that grow up in America go through a phase where they are not accepting of their culture. They feel like they need to avoid their culture in order to fit in with everyone else. I did not connect with or appreciate everything my culture had to offer until I was a freshman in high school. This change happened for me because of two main reasons. The Indian friends I was surrounded by became more accepting of their own culture which allowed me to feel comfort in mine. I also was able to connect to Kuchipudi (an Indian classical dance form) more than I ever had in the past, which allowed me to see the beauty of Telugu culture.
What are common stereotypes about people in the region you are from?
Jayeesh: Once common stereotype is that people are naturally smart. This is not true because immigrant parents value education so they changed their whole lives to instill the value of education to their children. Another common stereotype is the belief that everyone speaks Hindi. This is false to assume because there are a lot of other languages in India. Another stereotype is that Inidans only have jobs in IT. I hate this stereotype the most. In India, Indians occupy a variety of jobs. Having a restaurant of their own, being a doctor, or agricultural scientist. Yet, in America, most of our parents are in the technology field because that’s where the growth in American jobs was and that’s how our parents could get visas. Just because our parents were technology specialists, doesn’t mean we automatically inherit their abilities. Another common stereotype is the belief that Indians are not Athletic. This is false because most of us don't have the exposure to certain sports other than tennis and badminton from a young age that leads to having to pick up certain aspects of the game later which takes time. For me, I've felt that within track, because starting out I was a lot slower while some other kids who weren't Indian started running from elementary school that they're naturally fast in high school because they started running from a young age. Yet, hardwork and perseverance can get you through, and I've gotten a lot better at hurdles. Even though I am usually very skinny and somewhat small compared to other hurdlers, I don't let that get in my head.
Nikitha: I agree that several of the stereotypes above are very commonly believed. The stereotype that Indians are naturally smart just because of their ethnicity is very frustrating because that sets up an expectation before getting to know somebody. This stereotype was also very commonly believed throughout elementary and middle school in my experience. The second stereotype that Jayeesh mentioned is also very frustrating to me. When I was younger I would always get asked “Do you speak Indian?” or “Do you speak Hindi?” India has over 22 major languages and 720 dialects so it is unfair to assume that everyone speaks Hindi.
What is your favorite thing to do/place to go when you visit the region you are from?
Jayeesh: Watch movies with my tata (grandfather). Attempting to communicate with my Ammama (grandmother) because she doesn't understand english very well and I can't speak Telugu very well. Playing with the housemaid’s children or any other children of our relatives. Visiting our relatives and them having a 16 ounce soda drink because they know I love sodas (I cannot drink that much soda anymore). Going to the theatres whether that’s the imax one or the run down theatres and watching movies for less than half the price of American movies. Going on auto drives. The feast after weddings.
Nikitha: My favorite thing to do when I go to India is spending time with family. I do not get to go to India very often so when I do I like to make the most of the time I have. I love going on motorcycle rides with my older cousins and watching movies with the rest of the family. I like going on walks with my tataya and just talking for hours with my Ammama. I also love trying new foods and fruits that we don’t get to enjoy in the US.
Favorites:
Food:
Jayeesh: Anything as long as it's vegetarian and not too sweet.
Nikitha: My favorite snack is Pani Puri. My favorite dish is butter chicken with garlic naan. My favorite dessert is Kulfi and my favorite drink is mango lassi.
Movies/Music:
Jayeesh: Movies that have a feel good plot and story. Music that has a lot of instrumentals and has a nice beat to dance to. Movie- Pilla Zamindar. Music- Jersey Background Music.
Nikitha: My favorite movie is Happy Days but I also love all of Nani and Allu Arjun’s movies. I don’t have a favorite Telugu song because there are too many good ones to pick from!
Holidays/ Tradition:
Jayeesh: If there's any occasion to celebrate(Diwali, Holi, Sankranti, Ganesh Chaturti), I'll celebrate it. There are a lot of traditions and most of them do have a meaning behind them, so I usually follow those traditions. One such tradition is doing a gesture when one steps on paper to show that you don't disrespect your education. I kind of hurt inside when another person steps on paper or people burn their workbooks.
Nikitha: I love celebrating all of the festivals especially the past year when we also get to write posts about them for all of you! But if I had to pick my favorite it would be Diwali! There is something so special about getting to celebrate with family and friends every year and I will definitely miss it when I go to college next year.
There won’t be a post next week, but check back soon for some spicy updates!
Our next All Around South Asia post will be up on 02/26/2021! Come back to learn all about Punjabi culture!