Monsoon Wedding

According to Migration Policy Institute, Indians have become the second-largest immigrant group in the United States after Mexicans in 2013 with more than 2 million Indian-born immigrants resided countrywide. Indians are also the top recipients of the working visa and second-largest country to send international students to the United States after China. The reasons behind the high surge of immigration might be vary, but a better job opportunity, improved living conditions, and better education are some of the reasons behind the move. Enter Mira Nair, an Indian-American filmmaker who migrated to the United States at the age of 19 with a full scholarship to Harvard University. Nair started her film-making career in the late 70s where she produced
The bride’s father and host, Lalit Verma, starts to pour the whisky and offer the cigar to Rai, the bride’s brother-in-law who migrated to the United States. Rai, who appears to be more modern and poised than the other family members, declined the offer politely saying that he has quit. Lalit continues to comment on how America makes everyone quit smoking and mentions that speaking a little English can makes a family seems more cultured. As Nair introduces the vibrant -and often chaotic, feel of an Indian family gathering through the camera that shifts from one character to another quickly, she used this scene as a catalyst to more conflicts in the movie. The whiskey and cigar often seen as a symbol of wealth in Indian society and by serving it for the guests is a showcase of prestige and a perception of cultured for Lalit despite it being perceived otherwise by
Adapted from Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel of the same title, The Namesake is a story of a Bengali couple who migrated and raised a family in New York. It captures the struggle of keeping the traditional roots and culture alive while assimilating into the American life that addressed throughout a wholesome feast of culture shocks that includes scenes involving food. Assimilation can also be seen as adapting into a life that one has to live in order to survive. In her journal, Elizabeth Buettner mentioned that “gastronomic preference...ranked high in the panoply of reasons why Asians were criticized for failing to adapt” to the western culture. However true the statement is, this preference is one of the very few ways that immigrants are able to retain their cultures and practices. In The Namesake, this issue was addressed through the female protagonist’s favorite Bengali snack: Jhaal Muri. As Ashima was left alone in their New York apartment, she starts to feel uneasy and homesick as she missed her privileged life back in Calcutta. Ashima then goes to the pantry and make Jhaal Muri out of Kellog’s Rice Krispies, Planter’s peanuts, chili powder, and lemon juice. Traditionally, this snack is made out of puffed rice, chickpea noodles, lentils, peanuts, onion, tamarind juice, mustard oil, garam masala, and chaat masala served on the streets of Calcutta. With limited access to the exotic ingredients, Ashima recreates her very