Hello, Sat Srī akāla, Namaste, Āssālam ‘alaykum ! 

Let me introduce myself, I am Georgina Sahota. A 24 year old, British Born Indian who moved to Canada in 2009. Although I was born in the United Kingdom, I have travelled to India over 14 times to visit my Mothers’ side of the family, and to gain perspective on where I came from. In England, I grew in multiple towns; some small, some large, and some with many bumps in the road. When my family and I moved to Canada, it felt like a relief. Moving to a large, culturally diverse country where minorities are celebrated and inclusion resonates throughout cities.

Im British and half way to to being Canadian, but does that make me any less Indian?
It sounds like this should be a rhetorical question, but it really isn’t. This is a question that runs through most Indian teenagers and twentysomething’s when their parents ask why they don’t participate in more festivals, or why they don’t go to temple as often. The force behind this is the idea that moving away from the motherland means you will adopt some other culture/religion/ race. If you think about it, our parents have a point (don’t ever tell them I said that.) The further you move away from sun, the weaker the heat. So, what do we do? How do we keep the rays strong enough to feel the heat?

This blog is going to talk about experiences as a modern day Indian living in Western countries (furthest points from the sun), and what it means to be a minority but feel like the majority. In addition, I want to pose questions about expectations and observations from travelling to India and other countries, about gender roles, regression, and frame of reference.

With that being said, Thank you for reading my first blog post!
More to come….

– Georgina