What's New - Shahnicki Palace: Recent Episodes
Heidi Hojnicki and Sujal Shah
An American couple moves to India. I'd like to say hijinks ensue, but instead we tell hopefully interesting stories about the mundane details of life in India that stand out to us.
If you look at our social media posts, living in India probably looks pretty nice. The reality is that we live in a bit of an expat bubble, and, of course, we filter what we post to social media.
The interesting thing is that it's the things we don't share that might have the biggest impact on us.
Once you listen to the episode, hopefully the photo above will make sense. This is someone we saw in Chennai who definitely looked like a kid to me (teenager). I wonder what his story is, and why and how he ended up driving a kulfi kart at 8 or 9PM on a school night.
A final note: we debated sharing this episode. Looked at through one lens, it will seem quite narcissistic - our feelings while we live in comfort. I hope what comes across is that this is the most honest, authentic way to express the magnitude and scale of poverty here. Hopefully it comes across as more empathy than sympathy.
Related Links* Manual Scavenging (cleaning sewers) is often restricted by caste & is still very dangerous: In 21st century Bengaluru, men still die cleaning manholes * Here's an example of the kind of advice we've received about dealing with beggars (not this site, per se, it's just an example): India Beggars and Begging Scams: What You Should Know * We mention Hijra's in this episode. We had a good collection of links in our Outsider episode about who they are and the nuances of their culture in India.
Part of the reason we came to India was to show our son a different perspective on life. Implicitly, we wanted this experience to change him, but we didn't expect all of the ways he might change.
Related Links
- Get an idea of when evening MLB games are on: MLB schedule in India
- What is a Dhol?
Episode 3 focuses on identity, specifically being of Indian origin while living in India.
RELATED LINKSWe mention the Hijra (and Sujal pronounces it incorrectly). This is a complicated topic in India. Here are a few links worth looking at if you want to learn more:
- Wikipedia's entry for Hijra is a good place to start.
- Vice covered some of the challenges Hijra's face: India's 'Third Gender' Is Marginalized and Sanctified
- The Guardian covered their evolving legal status in India: Hijra: India's third gender claims its place in law
Hey, finally! Episode 2 of the podcast!
We've actually been recording quite a bit since the last episode was posted. But, there have been technical challenges, some terrible content, and then we also got busy because, uh, we had a baby.
There were some good bits in the hours of audio we recorded, so we're going to try something new for the next few episodes. We'll take specific short clips from those earlier recordings and build episodes around them. This works better for us, as we don't feel like we're covering the same topics over and over as we record new episodes. We also get a chance to add new perspectives based on the things we've learned over the months since the clips were recorded.
This episode is about hiring in India in the technology industry here. This is an interview style episode where Heidi is asking me questions. It's a good, short episode about one of the challenges I didn't expect when I came to India.
Enjoy!
Yes, it has been a ridiculously long time since we last recorded – months ago, literally. To make good excuses, we have been busy getting settled and into our routine. This episode features fun with language, exploration, the idea of being foreign, how our son is adjusting, and being an Indian American in India (likely a recurring topic through the podcast). While some of the things we need to figure out are small, they add up when one is plunked down into another culture.
Despite getting lots of advice to the contrary, we're going to broadcast our first practice episode as our first real episode. Because, why not :)
If you're wondering where our podcast is... well, a funny thing happened on the way to Bangalore.
Life takes unexpected turns, and so through a series of coincidences, we're going to get to live in India. I had a business trip to Bangalore in November, and then Heidi joined me a week later to look for a place to live and a school for our son. Through the trip we both got reacquainted, at least briefly, with an India that is different than what even Heidi remembers (she was just there a few years back), but an India that still is clearly one with the India I remember from 20 years ago.
This is the background for Episode 1.
