India with Jessica | Navigating Indian Culture With Love

Tajammul Islam talks about growing up in Kashmir and becoming an international kickboxing champion at a very young age. The interview is less about medals and more about what it took emotionally and socially to get there. She did not grow up with an environment that naturally encouraged girls to pursue combat sports. There were societal expectations, criticism from people around her, and practical...

What do you think about consciousness? What happens after death? Dr. Sujit Paul is a dedicated and passionate individual with a mission to help others unlock their full potential. With an impressive 25+ years of experience in personal development and holistic coaching, he has established himself as a trusted expert in the field. He is also a veteran executive having worked for some of the largest...

There are 5 common mistakes that most Hindi learners make and I have solutions for each of them. Whether is it speaking informally or following "bookish" Hindi, there are easy fixes for them all. Getting confused while Indians speak fast, freezing while speaking Hindi or getting confused with grammar, we have answers. Mentioned in the episode Free Hindi Roadmap Hindi Learner's Corner...

Jessica spills all the tea with Chandra Chandhok, who brings her into the Verona Matchmaking ecosystem, where there are no rules and ANYTHING can be said.  Jessica and Chandra dive into an hour long conversation about cross-cultural marriage, specifically what it is like to be in an Indian-American relationship. In this episode: Do cultural differences really make that big of a difference? Beyond...

Most of us could use help in connecting better with our in-laws, especially when their is a culture gap. In episode 93, Jessica Kumar talks about her top 3 strategies for building bridges with Indian in-laws as an American married to an Indian. There is no sure fire way to a perfect relationship, but these 3 things go a long way and can win over most aunties and uncles and give them a positive imp...

Gunjan Bradshaw Saini and Jessica have a completely different situation, yet much in common. Gunjan is Punjabi married to an American man. Jessica is American married to a Bihari man. While Gunjan and Jessica may seem to be on opposite sides of life, they have similar misunderstandings, culture clashes and hilarious moments with their families and husband's families as well.  Gunjan and Jessica di...

India has an ecosystem of multilingualism. Yet there is an immense pressure to let go of indigenous languages which are less frequently used and adopt majority languages like Hindi. In India, the modern hierarchy of languages puts English on top, major languages like Hindi in the middle and regional languages and dialects on the bottom. A sad state of linguicide is occurring in India and regional...

What do kids need to prepare for the future? Are the current educational philosophies of today cutting it? I dove deep into conscious, self-driven learning with Ms Lina Ashar. Ms. Lina Ashar. is a renowned and prominent educationist. Not only has she started  She has started over 100 centres in India, Dubai, Qatar, and Maldives today.   Ms. Ashar founded Billabong High International School, was wa...

What kind of questions can you expect to be asked by the average person in India? As a person who has lived in India for almost 2 decades, I have heard a lot of odd questions and underlying assumptions about foreigners. Hear my reaction to the top 5 overly personal questions, invasive or just plain strange questions I get asked regularly in India. Understand more about Indian culture from this vid...

Does India seem intimidating? Are you afraid you'll do something which may offend people when you visit? Or even if you attend an Indian function outside of India, what do you do? In this episode, Jessica shares a number of stupid things she did and mistakes she has made over the years, with humor and lessons attached. She also talks a fair amount about overcoming a white saviorism mentality and l...

Is India safe for foreign travelers? I believe that in 95% of situations, having the right skills and language will help you get out of sketchy situations.  But how? With most Hindi travel guides out there, the book is going to teach "Namaste, Mera naam Jessica hai. Aap kaise hain? Aapka naam kya hai?" While these are not bad things to learn, but actually not that important if you’re jus...

Asking questions in Hindi might be the most important thing you can learn. In this episode, Jessica talks about the importance of asking questions and not just making declarative statements in Hindi. In this episode, we talk about "kya - what." "Kya" is the most important word you need to know to be able to ask questions in Hindi. This video is a sample from the larger Hindi Gr...

If this is your first trip to India or eighth, this episode highlights the top 10 pro pointers you need to known to reduce the headaches, inconveniences and ripoffs that are likely to happen while visiting India. Download the new e-booklet "The Traveler's Guide to India" What's Included in the e-booklet? 30+ pages of practical tips, which will put you years ahead in: -Language Le...

Navigating the Indian medical system can be incredibly confusing, intimidating and even downright frustrating if you didn't grow up in South Asia. Knowing the ins and outs of how the medical field is run in India is crucial to being able to care for yourself and others in routine visits and especially emergencies. If you are visiting India, living in India as a foreigner, or an NRI who is cari...

I've been following Indicast with Aditya Mhatre and Abhishek Kumar for 17 years. They are the hosts of India's longest running multi-person podcast. Covering major business tycoon stories, to media personalities, to the latest news, these guys are the dynamic duo of Indian podcasting.  In Part 2, Jessica talks with them about predictions for future digital India and how they think tech has...

Aditya Mhatre and Abhishek Kumar were two of the first people in India to start podcasting, and today more than 15 years later, their show theindicast.com is still running. Interviewing some of the biggest celebrities in India, with humility, intellect and humor, Aditya and Abhishek are a dynamic duo. During this interview, Jessica gets behind the scenes of what it meant for Abhishek and Aditya pe...

What NOT to say in Hindi as a kid! This is an preview from the Kids' Hindi Kickstarter Course coming out next week on www.learnhindianywhere.com. It is an 18 part course taking you through all the responses you need to know as a kid in your first years of speaking Hindi. Jessica has 17 years experience in helping others learn Hindi and has multiple other courses online including Hindi Hacks, Overc...

In Episode 80, Jessica Kumar and Mallika Thoppay take on colorism in South Asian communities.   Mallika shares about her activism and how colorism affects everyone and hurts us all. She works with children in helping them to accept others as they are and stand up for themselves if they are being discriminated against.   She authored "Unfair and Lovely" to combat colorism in India. The bo...

Join me for a wrap of 2022 with snippets of the best episodes from this year. I'm very thankful for your support and encouragement through the past four years! Here are the highlight episodes of 2022! Episode 68 - Eliza Keyton (EliKutty) - Ethics of Language Learning Episode 71 - Devika Cariapa - childrens' author and archaeologist!  Episode 72 - What is it Really Like Being Married to an Ind...

If you've ever wondered what the differences are between the educational system in Western countries, this episode is for you.  If you're an NRI wondering if you should move back to India, or if you are a Westerner thinking about making the shift to India, this is for you too.  In this episode, Jessica details the major differences between Indian and Western education styles as well a a...

How do you build relationships in India? Part 2 of this 2 part episode deals with the relational dynamics of living in India as someone who didn't grow up there. Skip the outdated guide books and listen in to this advice from Jessica, who first started living in India in 2006. Friendships, finding common ground, how to manage house help and language learning tips are all here.  Whether you ar...

What are the crucial elements you need to life life well in India? Part 1 of this 2 part episode deals with the practicalities of living in India as someone who didn't grow up there. Skip the outdated guide books and listen in to this advice from Jessica, who first started living in India in 2006.  Negotiation, dealing with the complications of Indian currency, how to give and receive directi...

Episode 75 contains a teaser of Jessica's upcoming course Overcome Hindi Pronunciation Pitfalls! Abhishek joins Jessica to work through some of the most common pronunciation errors that learners of Hindi make. In this episode, we take a small slice and discuss the vowel sounds of Hindi which are often mispronounced.  Hear the subtle differences between short A and long A, and why you may have been...

Jessica dives deeper about having Indian in-laws as a foreigner. In this 2 part episode, Jessica discusses listener questions about having Indian in-laws when you didn’t grow up in Indian culture. We talk about how to address conflict, what happens when you're in a multi-generational home and how to address the different view of boundaries in East vs West. Be sure to listen to Part 1 to hear about...

Jessica tells all about having Indian in-laws as a foreigner. In this 2 part episode, Jessica discusses listener questions about having Indian in-laws when you didn’t grow up in Indian culture. You probably know Indian families are close knit. That is why having a good relationship with our in-laws is so important. We discuss questions like what to expect when meeting the in-laws for the first tim...