In my interviews with families in Delhi regarding marriage, one of the most interesting finding has been related to the persistence of the system of arranged marriage. National data shows that arranged marriage is far from retreating in Indian society. While there has been a decline in parent-only arranged marriages, there has been little increase […]
CASI Student Programs Blog
Since 2007, the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) at the University of Pennsylvania has supported nearly 200 students! Welcome to the home base for CASI students and alumni to share their thoughts, reflections, and ongoing learnings about their internships, research projects, and travels in India and beyond.
With my summer in India now behind me, I’m settling back into life at Penn. It feels almost like I never left, or that India was a long long time ago, yet on some days, I feel as if I was back there yesterday – drinking chai on the streets of Delhi, taking a boat […]
Summer in India is really hot – this is something that everyone asked me about or just told me when I mentioned I’d be in India for the summer. And there’s no doubt about it; sometimes in Delhi it gets to be 46 degrees celsius (about 115 degrees Farenheit). Sweating a little bit feels normal […]
Since PHFI is located in Gurgaon, a city that is basically an extension of New Delhi, Varshini and I explored Delhi extensively. Even then, it still felt like there were so many things we wanted to see there that we never got to do. We went to different parts of Delhi, ranging from traditional markets […]
Returning to India after two years, I have noticed many changes. One of the most striking changes I have noticed is the expansion in access to mobile data. When I used to live in India before, smart phones had already expanded to middle and even lower-middle class households but, for most people, data was just […]
In India, specifically among Hindus, cows are considered holy. This exalted status does have some peculiar societal effects. For one, when cows roam freely on roads, people do not get them to move out of the way, instead they wait for the cows to disperse of their own accord. Sometimes while driving by a cow, […]
Judging from my burgeoning belly, it is not hard to tell that food has a huge role to play in my life. Luckily for my gastric cravings, Bangalore has no shortage of phenomenal as well as affordable food options. That being said, there are certain foods that are far more delectable than others. One such […]
