Curries & Coconuts

Pavitra and Anouska are back and talk about their experiences with "positive" racism and the problems it entails, the structure of local political office, and new shows they're watching.

Some of us have been flaking and others have been baking. Anouska talks street food as a culinary inspiration and a cultural learning. Pavitra and Anouska talk Never Have I Ever, the goods and bads, and different experiences.

The storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters was the first time since 1812 that the Capitol has been stormed, by members of our country, nonetheless. The storming involved rioting, looting from Capitol buildings, and an attempted coup. Pavitra and Anouska talk about the impacts of the storming on the GOP, whether their denouncing will result in real change, and the decision of Big Tech to suspend Trump's social media accounts. They also talk on what it means to be a vegetarian in Indian vs. Western culture and the shift to eating meat in India and other similar countries. Lastly, Anouska and Pavitra talk on Meteor Garden, a Chinese drama, and the beauty of how Netflix, Hulu, and other subscription services offer a global selection of media allowing exploration of much more during quarantine. 

Pavitra finally watches Crash Landing on You after Anouska's repetitive suggestions. The girls also talks accents, the prejudice surrounding them, judgements on people's intelligence and backgrounds based on their accents, and more. To wrap things up, they re-loop to the books they'd been reading and cake baking to relax, touching on Tiffany Haddish's "The Last Black Unicorn" and her incredible story. 

Pavitra finalllyyy started watching Queen's Gambit after Anouska's continual recommendations. Pavitra and Anouska also talk about Ayurveda, the benefits of turmeric and other Ayurvedic medicines, their initial beliefs in Ayurveda, their stories on how those changed, and their VERY different opinions on the Air Pod Max. 

With quarantine, the focus of daily life has been put on work and studying as a way to keep ourselves sane and simultaneously drive ourselves crazy. Pavitra and Anouska talk learning to relax when at home, where reading and cooking come into play with that, and trying to switch things up. With relaxation, they talk putting oil in your hair, standards of beauty revolving around hair and how to care for it, and body hair in all it's glory. They wrap it up with their Spotify Wrapped ;) 

Coming back after a Thanksgiving break, Pavitra and Anouska have a lot to discuss. Anouska starts off by talking the new BTS album and it's insights on the COVID-19 pandemic. Then they get into the farmer protests in India and media coverage of the protests in the US plus learning about many causes via social media. Switching gears, they jump into their experiences with learning their mother tongues and how people's reactions to it can change willingness to learn and keep your mother tongue alive. Lastly, they talk about Harry Styles's dress and the conservatives reacting to it. 

Cardi B recently received a lot of backlash for her Reebok campaign with her appearing as a Hindu goddess. The rapper apologized for the appropriation. Pavitra and Anouska talk about Cardi B's apology, common cultural appropriation of Indian religion, and how companies rarely own up to their offensive marketing ideas, very often letting pop culture icons take the fall. 

The week of November 3rd was a hard one. Results from the election took a long week to know what the final winner of the election one. Pavitra and Anouska talk about the election, the future ahead, the work to do, and the historic achievement of having Kamala Harris as Vice President-Elect. They also talk about perspectives on Harris in India, celebrities influence in elections and voter turnout, Doja Cat confusion, and Ariana Grande vs. Tiktokers on Saddle Ranch. 

Halloween 2020 is real different from any other year. Pavitra and Anouska talk about being shut in and celebrating during COVID, celebrities openly supporting Trump and the damage that can do, and Indian Matchmaking and how arranged marriage has changed over the years in comparison to people's perceptions of what it is. 

In this episode, Pavitra and Anouska talk about the last debate and SNL, how a person's name is attached to their identity and intentionally mispronouncing it or not trying shows disrespect, and all the amazing things that can be learned about a culture via it's food. 

The weeks before the election have been all too much. Pavitra and Anouska talk about the debates and town halls and why Indians and others should not vote for Trump. They also talk Columbus Day, why it sucks, childhood experiences, the importance of discussions on culture and preservation of individual cultures. 

Do people go too far sometimes on Tik Tok to make a joke and gain popularity? What impact does that have when the joke targets a specific minority? Why do people do it in the first place? Pavitra and Anouska discuss all that, the debates, Trump, and Among Us in their kick-off episode. 

Pavitra and Anouska sit down to talk about themselves and why they started Curries & Coconuts. They explore the derogatory terms "curry" and "coconut", the importance of reclaiming a name, and what in their perspective truly makes a culture.