Being in tune with one’s own culture is synonymous with knowing and being comfortable with the roots of your complicated identity. There are a few ways that multicultural individuals can go about achieving this, but the best way to feel true contentment is to seek out your cultural foundations, with the ultimate goal of accepting yourself.

I was born in Canada and have spent most of my life here, so I have experienced both physical and emotional disconnection from my family in India, and thus overall Indian culture. This has made me struggle to truly empathise with many South Asian communities, both inside and outside the West. That lack of connection can be attributed to my lack of knowledge and understanding.

As a third-culture kid, it is crucial that I understand my roots, so that I can accept who I am, and hopefully initiate productive conversations in the future. It is important for young people to learn about their cultures, to avoid the “noise pollution” that confuses the discovery of a strong personal identity.

Studying Indian history

Many of our parents who emigrated to Canada came in the hope of having a better life, and, in my family’s case, to avoid the religious conflicts that came with living in India.

Growing up, understanding my cultural identity as an Indian-Canadian was difficult. The only information I had of my Indian heritage were oral traditions from my parents and grandparents – mantras sung in the morning, or religious stories told at bedtime. We also took occasional trips to visit my grandparents in Gujarat. It felt like I only ever got to hear about my heritage, but never experienced it first-hand.

Canada is composed of numerous communities and subcultures, and diversity here has increased since my parents emigrated in 2002. Diversity tends to have positive connotations. However, in the context of enriching one’s understanding of a country like India that has experienced so many changes, the sources for any real learning are scarce.

Developments in religious and spiritual recreation and the increased popularity of Indian traditions in the West produces a politically noisy environment where people value expression (looking outwards) over personal truths (looking inwards).

A possible solution

Initially, my knee-jerk reaction to my lack of knowledge was to hyperfixate on the latest depictions of Indian history in the media, and attempt to puzzle together why that makes sense in relation to the present.

But this is not an effective approach. Hyperfixating on specific information and relying on surface-level archetypes is what the media does best. But it does a poor job of telling the complex, dynamic stories that are often harder to digest.

It is up to individuals to be their own navigators. In the modern day, blindly absorbing the influx of information endorsed through digital perspectives is the same as following outdated ideologies that are incapable of reshaping the world.

When I was younger, I enjoyed immersing myself in fictional tales, traditional music and recitations of parables and poetry at my grandmother’s home. Now, as a teen, I am old enough to know that the real world is not so simple.

Even though it is daunting and I feel unsure, I want to have clarity and take accountability for what is happening in the world.

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Abiding by the stories shared by communities who are not directly involved with India is detrimental to the new generations of Indians and South Asians growing up in the West.

As I approach adulthood, it is intimidating to see how disconnected I am from my culture, and therefore my roots. I have developed a new perspective to challenge this fear: as long as I am trying, I have a higher chance of reaching home than if I never tried at all. For me, there can be no bigger dream than going home.