February 14, 2025

India and identity

Yesterday, while interviewing farmers in Kanakapura, I had a couple experiences that reminded me to think critically about my identity and what it means to be who I am.

The day started off bright and early at 630am as we waited to be picked up to make the two hour drive to Kanakapura. After stopping for breakfast where we had masala dosa, sitting through Balachandra’s intense driving, and spotting a giant boar on the way, we finally arrived at 9:00 to begin interviewing our first farmer. The interview went well, and we learned a lot, and after the interview, the farmer asked me where I was from. I gave a generic answer, and the farmer smiled, and we moved onto our next interview.

Then the next interview started. But before the interview, the farmer asked me this same question. Where are you from? This time I tried to give a more detailed answer. But it felt awkward, incomplete. Like I was trying to answer a question that I didn’t fully know the answer to.

But this was something I was used to, and I didn’t let this awkward interaction dictate the rest of the interview.

During the interview, the farmer shared his inspirational story of switching to regenerative farming. He explained how he spearheaded the movement in his village to make the shift to regen–prioritizing the crops, the soil, and their health. But to me, the most inspirational story he shared was when he talked about how he protested against a GMO eggplant variety that was being introduced in Karnataka. Understanding the loss in biodiversity, the decreased self-reliance and the decreased nutritional benefits, this farmer wore a garland made up of 52 different eggplant varieties that are found in south india and led a protest to stop the introduction of this new gmo crop.

This farmer, a 3rd grade dropout, understood symbolism on a deeper level than any academic could teach in a classroom. And to me, it shattered any stereotype of my people being submissive or weak.

This brings me back to the question, where am I from? And why it is such an important question for me to answer. Obviously, my identity is not solely dictated by the color of my skin or the region in which I grew up. But in a world where the color of my skin is (consciously or unconsciously) the first thing people see, it does dictate a significant portion about why my identity is the way it is today.

Although I have learned a lot about my culture, my history, my people, my values, my traditions in my 21 years of life, returning to India has shown me that I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface, and there is so so much more to learn.

By,
Amay