Super curious about your perspective on what it’s like growing up Indian in Singapore / Malaysia.
I’m currently in Singapore right now and was quite surprised at how many second / third gen Indians native to Singapore very closely adhere to cultural practices (wearing traditional clothes, bindi / bottu, bangles etc.).
In the US it feels like most Indian Americans have for the most part lost those cultural practices except in the context of specific cultural events.
I guess there was way less pressure to drop those cultural practices? Someone said that Singapore practices multiculturalism while America for all of its openness is more of a cultural blender that eventually assimilates you into Americana.
So, not too long ago we had a blowout with my MIL. Even before we got married she's been a pain in the ass. She makes snide remarks. She does things to tell me that her son is worth more than I am.
Example :
(1) My husband plays soccer with his friends every other week. Sometimes he pulls his muscle, gets a sprain etc. I don't know why but my MIL makes remarks like - Oh, he's in pain? Did you beat him up? I see he's having a slight limp did you beat him up? And she says it with a smile.
(2) While making pancakes she messes up the first one and says - Well, you have this one and I'll make a perfect one for Kevin (name has been changed). I say - Why not just throw it away? She says - Why waste it when you can eat it? I let it slide.
We got married and we live with them because my husband bought the house with his parents. She didn't lift a finger to help with the wedding. I was sleep deprived and stressed out. My husband is an aircraft tech and works 12 hour shifts. He works at different times every day. On his days off he helps with the wedding prep. A week after the wedding I had a seizure and was hospitalised. Doctors ruled it wasn't epilepsy and that it was due to the sleep deprivation and mental stress.
My husband and I have a routine when we wake up. Coffee and comedy. We sip and we laugh. But making coffee is a war. Because every time I go out to the kitchen to make coffee she's there telling me - No, no. Leave it. I'll make it.
She doesn't let me cook. She doesn't let me make coffee. She gets upset when I cook for my husband. All these together with the sleep deprivation caused the seizure.
A month ago my husband and I had gone for a staycation and it just so happened that I had a severe gallbladder attack and had to be hospitalised again. So, this trooper I married made sure I was all okay and snuggled and went to get our stuff back from the hotel and head home. He's back home and texts me to tell me that he'll unpack and have a shower and be back in the hospital before I know it.
MIL calls me and says - I had a dream that Kevin got beaten up. When I saw him back home with the luggage I thought you had beaten him up and that's why he's back. He told me you were in the hospital but I didn't believe him.
I had about enough at this point.
When my husband came back to the hospital I told him what she said and I asked him - Does your mother actually think you're a ball-less wuss who gets beaten up by his wife? Is that how little she thinks
... keep reading on reddit ➡Update: Thanks to everyone who submitted questions and took part in the discussion. It has been really fun!
Hi! We are historians and we edited a volume of essays on how and why the stories Singapore is telling about its past is tying Singaporeans up in knots.
I am Sai Siew Min. I am an academic who researches Southeast Asian histories with a focus on Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. And I am joined by Faris Joraimi, a university student who examines the history of the early modern Malay world.
It all started in January 2019 with Singapore's celebration of the bicentennial of Stamford Raffles' landing in 1819. This was odd. Surely an independent nation had no reason to celebrate the coming of its former coloniser? Odder still was the fact that the birthday bash was rather grand and lasted for an entire year. Things managed to get even weirder when Singaporeans were told that we weren't really celebrating our 200th birthday but our 700th one. Suddenly, Singapore's colonial past was well, passé, and everyone was talking about Singapore's "pre-colonial" past. What was going on? We decided to get a bunch of artists and scholars together to find out why Singapore suddenly got more than three times older in just two hundred years. What's the story behind the math? Or maybe "stories" is a better word because 200 and 700 are not the only magic numbers. In the very beginning, there was 1965. What are these numerical mysteries telling and not telling us?
Want to know more? Join us for a discussion on Singapore history!
Siew Min's Proof (auntie_historian): https://imgur.com/a/dP3Jl9l
Faris's Proof (bintang_timur): https://imgur.com/a/YhUiUkp
Our book: https://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/products/rafflesrenounced
10.00PM And, it’s a wrap—for tonight.
Thanks for all the great questions. We’ll be back to answer more questions tomorrow!
Are the results for people with South Asian ancestry accurate? Can they be trusted? Here's the results:
Breakdown of South Asian ancestry
6th Grade: Top 10 colleges in World
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Drop year: Minimum donation required for decent private college.
It’s sounds like a far-fetched story, because of the hoodwinking, the cloak and dagger and all the smoke and all the mirrors in the world. It is jarring to see such competence by an Indian Prime Minister, especially after the whole Morarji Desai fiasco, where he basically gave away the secret that India was developing a nuclear weapon. That to0, to the General Zia Ul Haq himself! It led to the deaths of thousands of deep implanted R and AW agents within Pakistan.
Then was the debacle of 1995 when the previous Congress Prime Minister, PVNR wanted to conduct the tests, but the details were leaked and the world powers, especially USA put its foot down to backtrack Indian intentions. There were no further nuclear tests after 1995 until 1998.
It was therefore paramount to not let even the rumours of a nuclear test leak, because the superpowers would react reflexively. That would require pure intent on keeping operations secure and secret from the Prime Minister’s office to the army soldier who is working on the ground preparing the terrain for the test. All levels delivered. The intent was there and so was confidence in keeping it a secret.
Vajpayee, unlike his predecessors, was very straight about India becoming a country that valued national security. He openly said –
>"There is no compromise on national security. We will exercise all options including nuclear options to protect security and sovereignty,"
The Vajpayee government delivered on its promise and somehow maintained the sanctity of operational security, and the world came to know about the second Pokhran tests only after they were conducted.
If it was embarrassing for Pakistan, which was a few hundred kilometres Northwest, that it didn’t have any idea of it all, it must have been a subject of plain ridicule for the CIA, that was snooping on the whole world with their military satellites.
No one had an idea of what went on, and all the people involved jumped through many a blazing hoops to make this “Operation Shakti” successful. We will take a look at them one by one –
The charge of building an infrastructure to conduct a nuclear test underground was given to 58th Engineering Regiment of the Indian Army –
The shaft Kumbhakaran that held the third of the five nuclear devices.
The USA had exceptional satellite tracking abilities even then
... keep reading on reddit ➡I'm just sick of all the Indian versions of popular global channels on TV. They keep pushing ads in like every 5 minutes and they're so repetitive and dreadful.
Most of the shows they broadcast are really old too. Half the programs I see on Discovery and Nat Geo are the same stuff I saw years ago.
I remember watching the latest episodes of Regular show and Adventure time on Cartoon Network a few years back on the Singaporean version of the channel which Dialog had back then. Suddenly they changed it to the Indian version and it was showing all the episodes from way before.
The Singaporean and Asia Pacific channels I see on TV are the best. The shows are all new and the ads are bearable
Does Dialog know this?
Sorry if this is not the right sub to ask a bit I couldn’t help but be curious. The issue with the man trying to perform the ritual and the lady banging on the gong prompted this.
Context: I’m Indian-American (ethnically Indian but born and raised in the US). Have lots of Singaporean friends (incidentally mostly ethnic Chinese that chose to study abroad here). Also spent some time in Singapore.
Singaporean Indians - do you feel really close to your cultural roots?
I’ve noticed a lot of Singaporean Indians who have been in Singapore for awhile are still quite connected to their cultural roots. Festivals, holidays, rituals are all practiced diligently.
In contrast I think a lot of second and third gen Indian-Americans have a very superficial relationship with Indian culture. Primarily exclusively in the form of food and maybe clothing on special occasions. It really does feel like we’ve been consumed / blended into mainstream American culture with our Indian roots significantly diluted.
I was just curious to get the Singaporean Indian take on it - thanks!
As the title suggests, I need detailed resources on a specific king, kingdom, dynasty or time period. Is there any books which covers every minute details we know ?
In the history of Indian cinema there are a few milestones which paved the path and future of our Cinema. Some of these moments have been forgotten over time but others still shine bright. Here is a list of the most iconic milestones to treasure in our memory and pay respect to:
First Indian Short Film (1899) - "The Wrestlers" was the first ever motion picture made in India by Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar AKA Save Dada. Save Dada was among the first Indians to witness the movie pioneer Lumiere Brothers unveiling of a new mode of entertainment and communication on their global tour in Bombay with their first motion picture “La Sortie des ouvriers de l'usine Lumière” (“Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory”). After experiencing this new art form he decided to buy a movie camera and projector and started making short films in India. He is considered India’s first documentary film maker as he started shooting scenes from daily life and important events.
India’s First Full Length Film (1903) - "Ali Baba and Forty Thieves" is considered India’s first ever full length movie of a stage play recorded by Hiralal Sen. Hiralal saw a stage show captured on.film called “The Flower of Persia” in Calcutta and decided to make his own movies. He founded the Royal Bioscope and made more than 40 short films over the next decade. He lost most of his money over the years leading to the eventual closure of Royal Bioscope and unfortunately all his films were lost in a fire in 1917 before his untimely death. Hiralal is also considered India’s first advertising film maker.
India’s First “Feature Film” (1912) - "Shree Pundalik" is in fact the first 22 min feature film shot based on a script and released in India by Dadasaheb Torne. Since it was shot by British cinematographers, processed in London and is considered a recording of a play, it is not recognized as India’s first film by the Government of India despite being released a year before Raja Harishchandra.
First Authentic Indian Film (1913) - "Raja Harishchandra" is the movie we all know as India’s first film. It may have not been the actual “First” Indian film but it is definitely the first truly authentic Indian film made and processed completely locally. The Father of India Cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke got inspired by the film “The life of Christ” in 1911 and travelled to London to learn about film making. On his return he founded the Phalke Films company, imported the required equipment to shoot
... keep reading on reddit ➡
