Picky eater vs. Acquired taste

J is a picky and lazy eater. Each time she is given a new thing to eat, she would taste that with tip of her tongue. It is a funny visual and sometimes an irritating one specially when I prepare a dish keeping only her in mind. We had very hard time during her transition from bottles of milk to diverse solid food. She at the age of  1 and 1/2 years found no reason to come out of the comfort of just sucking milk from bottle or lick spoons of semi solid baby food with mild taste and swallow them immediately than to chew solid foods which were so complex in taste and texture. Result was an irritated and constipated child. Also now when I look back I find she was going to a German day care at that time and was taught to eat with utensils, where touching food with fingers was not a good manner. At home she found her Indian parents eating their food using fingers. J must have got confused seeing two ways of eating in that small age. Also the taste and texture of food was quite different in two places. Result, she got extremely picky about eating. We understood that and used to give her knife and fork to eat rice at home. This helped her. We also learnt to be consistent in giving her proper food and no baby food to develop her chewing and proper food eating habit.

At around age 3, she asked me once whether I feel messy to eat with fingers. I told her that no, it is just a habit. Also that there are some rules we follow, even if we eat with hands, like we use  only right hands, we use only fingers, we use chapatti (Indian bread) to scoop sabji and daal (curries and lenti; soup), there are countries other than India where also people eat with hands etc.  In the mean time, we, 'J's parents, big foodies, started including 'J' for cooking. She used to do simple acitvities like mixing things together. This broke her inhibitions of touching food with fingers. She started learning the names of different fruits and vegetables. She started to like the process of baking and so on. She still continues to taste any new thing with the tip of her tongue and she still continue to reject several vegetables (specially greens). She loved eating non-vegeterian items though. When she was 5, she asked me one day whether she could try eating food at home like us. She tried to eat rice with her fingers and as fingers are easy to use than fork and knife to mix food and Indian curries, she liked the taste of food better. Also with constant exposure to diverse food habits at school/day care and home she started accepting both and started picking some favourites of her own in both places.

In this time she also started visiting her friend's house where she found that food was yet again different from her home and school. In spite of being picky, upon repetitive exposures she started choosing certain special food in her friend's house too. I started introducing the term 'acquired taste' in our regular language. I tried to explain her that there were several things I did not like to eat as a child, but as I grew old I started liking them. One example being cooked onions. 'J' found it funny that her 'food loving' mummy also had 'dislikes' as a kid. We kept watching food programmes talking about different types of international food and we kept buying and using several ingredients which are not that used in an Indian kitchen. 'J' started taking interest in several methods of cooking and used to come up with her 'own' ideas of cooking.

Recently upon our return to western part of India, she saw yet another world were vegetarian food are more common to consume. Geographically this region of India is land-locked and dry. So in earlier times the availability of fish and meat might be rare, legumes, fruits, vegetables and cereals are are major produces in these regions leading to vegetarian eating habit, which might have inoculated in the form of religious necessity as human being started creating faiths and religions for streamlined life.

Kids don't know all this reasons, they follow whatever they see at home, they get conditioned accordingly, so they form a critical view towards food not eaten in their home. 'J' on hearing the comments that 'eating fish or meat is yucky' got quite confused. She started showing her doubts towards chicken and fish curry which are her all time favourites. In her school non-vegeterian food is not allowed in the tiffin as they share food with each other adding more points to her doubts .

My parenting came under test again. Along with using the principle of 'acquired taste', I started talking with her about the geography and cultivation practice of different region or at least about the places where we have lived still now. This helped her understand that people in each place mostly eat what is grown there but as we unlike many others are always on move we get chance to explore different tastes. Secondly I started talking about various religions and how our belief  on religion also puts impact in our eating habits. She started understanding. We continued eating and cooking various tastes at our home and started exploring different restaurants. We started introducing new ingredients from the local markets in our cooking.

Recently I noticed that 'J' is finding it hard to eat at bigger gatherings, because of her being shy, because of all the excitement she goes through in such places, because of foreignness of the places and faces of people and because of she being not used to it and being picky, specially during festivals and big parties. Such gatherings (of almost 100 people and more) were not their in her life till now, as we were not in India till recently. We discussed on this issue and she said she was too tired to eat and she was although sad for her behaviour but she could not help it.

So my next journey will be to make her comfortable or at least accept the novelty of a situation that sometimes arises around food, and that where so many other people who are eating happily the same thing that has been offered to her, so she can try to taste the things with a smile and who knows she might find a new favourite for herself. 

How to get a PhD position in Germany? A little more

In my last post on how to get a Phd position in Germany? I mentioned about the points which can be helpful for a M.Sc final year student who has already made up her/his mind to proceed towards a PhD and that too in a foreign country.

But if you are already absorbed in a research institute in India and have joined a PhD programme, and you are still looking for doing PhD or collaborative PhDs from other places like in Germany, then as one my friends suggested; you can always reach out and make contacts with invited European scientists in the international seminars or conferences hosted by your institute or in any other Indian institute where you can participate.

As I mentioned in last posts and also in an  another one that largest numbers of applications for PhD positions are submitted from India and China and a personal dialogue or discussion in an international seminar can always provide an extra edge to your application.

But of course, if this is not possible in your case, then you can directly apply for international Phd programmes like;

International Max-Planck Research Schools

India and Germany has very strong educational ties and exchange services like DAAD are there offering several PhD positions in various fields. 

It is also possible to do collaborative research through DAAD exchange service, but in that case it is essential that your PhD supervisor in India have interests in starting a collaboration or does have a running collaboration already with a German faculty.

DAAD exchange programme also offers fellowships for short visits to both Indian and German Masters students, in that case it is needed to find a host faculty in the subject you are interested to pursue a short project. This short programmes are very good exposure to for those who want to opt for a PhD in Germany. 

In the field of science Masters studies/projects can be done in English language in many institutes now in Germany but for humanities, law or management the medium of instruction can be both German and /or English.

Approaching Longest Day of the Year: 21st June

June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 193 days remaining until the end of the year.

On non-leap years (until 2039), this day marks the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, and this is the day of the year with the longest hours of daylight in the northern hemisphere and the shortest in the southern hemisphere. (Wikipedia)

As a child I remember reading about this date in Geography text book, may be in class V or VI. But I then never realized the true meaning of a longest day as in India days and nights are more or less of same length (near to the equator), in western India days do get longer in summer but that means sunlight stays maximum till 7.30 p.m. in the evening. For we kids it was more fun as in those days we were lucky to play hide and seek, skipping rope, Badminton or whatever on the open street, we need not make any confirmed play dates and could hop door to door from around 4 p.m. to collect our friends before discussing, planning and starting to play for that evening until the street lights were on. And more daylight means more time to play.

My entry to Europe was in Autumn. Europe mesmerized me with its yellow, red and brown leaves, pumpkins (real, and artificial) filled shops and sharp chilly wind (well for me then), these scenes and feelings were very new to me,  I had  seen ever green trees only and of course I had seen pumpkins but they grow in summer in India and I never saw so many shops selling things with pumpkins as their background theme, it was only later I found out that it is related with a festival called Halloween, started in Ireland but then went to USA along with  Irish settlers and then came back to Europe again as a companion of globalization.  In those first days of mine in Europe when I was gobbling every thing around me just like looking into a big colorful book, I was also very careful about turning each of its pages as it was a kind of new living for me, but as every expat heart keep searching some similarity of the host land with their own land, I also kept doing that and then found one. That was the sky on a clear, crispy and sunny Autumn day, with clouds floating like  small cotton wools (this kind of cloud is also very typical in India in Autumn and as a Bengali (Hindu) this sky reminds us of our main festival of the year), that sky which was rare; as autumn in Europe is mostly rainy, gave me the assurance that if I try I can settle down here for a while.

Then came the winter and which I will skip today as the European winter, dusky days and dark nights, the snow, the cold, Christmas feasts, special gluhwein (a typical hot wein specially prepared during Christmas time in Germany) and Weihnachten markts  (German for Christmas Markets) do call for at least  one independent blog of its own, if not many.

Spring came next, which again was very new to me as in India also, we celebrate a lot with colors in spring but the welcoming for spring is not so genuine from heart. As we never spend any leafless dark winter there. Here blooming of first  Osterglocken (German for Daffodils), tulips, Gänseblümchen (German for daisies) and edelweiss after long, cold and mostly dark winter gave me enormous happiness. These flowers also begin a parade of blooming of cherry blossoms, hycinths, pansies, marigolds, many flowers who are unknown to me and finally roses of various colors and varieties. And after 'J' has started talking this is the time when she wishes to go to a strawberry field.

And while walking through the roads, looking at the flowers in others gardens (I never got time to maintain my own one) and changing from winter jacket to summer jackets, without giving any proper notice, the summer arrived (so unlike as was in India, where summer is like the king, arrives with a great pomp, show and  Mangoes!). Here Summer brings cherries. Summer is a time of absorbing sun, relaxation, holidays, picnics, Barbeques, short trips or in other words it is the time to make fun in Europe. Just like it is in winter in India. And if you are living in  European countries very close to the north pole, then you will feel that few bright sunny days available in summer are treated very specially by people here.  On my long distance phone calls when my mother complained of  extreme heat I told her with a relief "It is quite nice and warm here Ma!" On approaching 21st June the days get bright almost till 11 p.m. at night and sun rises again around 4 a.m. The birds and children are though quite well mannered here and are not awake that long.

But I always wonder during these  mid summer nights and think may be therefore Shakespeare  called one of his play as "Midsummer's night dream". 

An Indian and world cup football

One more world cup football started and in Europe this is a season of festivity, the celebrations starts from daycare centers and schools. 

I remember in Germany; in 2006 football world cup; the kindergarten where 'J' was going was decorated with flags, also it was more special as Germany was the hosting the tournament. They did world cup football picnics, sports and tattoos on every kids cheek! In our office we had bets for which country will win? Also beamers which is normally used for powerpoint presentations of scientific results were used to watch football matches which were 'very' important but were held during office time.

Well, please never think that I am a die hard football fan, my knowledge about football limits to a goal and few famous players names, but that does not mean I don't have any alliance with it.

Today when 'J' while coming from school (she is now in UK and the scenario in her primary school is not much different from that of Germany) asked me "Mum why India is not in world cup? I would have loved to cheer for India." I replied "Yes, 'J' it is sad, India is not very good in football, but India is good in Cricket, Hockey and Chess, and nevertheless you can always cheer for Germany, it is your birthplace." She replied "But India is my country." I felt amazed that amidst of all the confusing relocations in different countries and her total stay in India for 6 weeks only, in her six years of lifespan, has not prevented her in developing a sense of national identity.

I wanted to tell 'J' about how enthusiastic people of India participate in their own way in the world cup without even having its own team. And on the way back walking slowly towards home I started spinning yarns of the world cup foot ball I have as an Indian. 

My earliest association with world cup dates to that year when Maradona was storming the world and also our army quarter when I woke up suddenly in the middle of the one night hearing a roaring goal sound from my father, watching T.V. all alone in the living room. I got up and slowly went to him, to see his eyes excited with childish joy and he showed me how Maradona made a goal!

Next, I remember a scene in my ancestral house in a small village in India where about 12 boys (aged 8 to 80 years) were sitting on a double bed and watching very silently a world cup semi-final in the late afternoon on a black and white portable T.V.  The T.V room was on the first floor. The  kitchen downstair was also equally populated and not at all silent, where my mother, aunties and grand mother were preparing supply of tea for adults,  sherbet  (home made lemonade) for younger ones  and hot tele bhaja (meaning deep fried snacks made up of different thin sliced veggies and chick pea flour) for all of us. After all watching a game like football also needs lot of strength.

I also remember that on the same season of football world cup, on one such summer afternoon, in the middle of a very exciting game, that double bed broke just after making a creeping sound and all the boys from 8-80 fall down on the floor, making an extraordinary noise which we from the downstairs first thought was yet another goal!

The girls hostel of my university would get divided into two camps of the world cup finalists and we were quite regular in reading sports news on the newspaper for those few days.

The scene in boys hostels were wilder of course.

After coming out of India this is my third world cup football, last two times I was in Germany and it was fun. Specially 2006 world cup showed a new Germany to us. Flags, T-Shirts, key chains were sold in large number in those days and for the first time we saw people putting flags on their balconies or windows. Unlike Denmark or Sweden, Germans don't use their flag for personal occasions (owing to their history perhaps), but hosting the world cup dissolved their inhibitions and enlightened their feelings for a proud nation. Also flags from Turkey, France, Italy were seen along with German flags in many houses telling us that those houses are from expats of these countries.

After talking a lot, I looked at 'J', she was laughing madly listening to those funny stories and as I opened the door to home I silently but convincingly told her that may be we need to wait few years and then India will manage to enter into world cup football tournament. She clapped her hands with joy, the same one as I saw in my father's eyes  many years ago.

So India cannot we try to make a child's dream come true?

A visit to a local craft fair

Being an Indian, hand made crafts have always been part of my life, whether it is my mother wearing a cotton saree made in hand mills, those cane baskets I used to keep my toys, batik tops I wore when I wanted to be chic or small wall hanging show pieces brought from annual fairs of the small towns I have lived in. Indian crafts has always excelled in gaining niches just like Indian spices wherever they went. There are several pockets of India which boasts of its rare silks, pearls, embroideries, wooden furnitures and can compete superbly in world markets.

May be owing to these, handicrafts from various other parts of the world attracts me a lot. If the unique skylines, historical monuments, zoos and supermarkets describe the nature of big cities then I would say that hand made, local and yet delicate things in the form of crafts and other delicacies give character to an anonymous small town.

While living in Germany, I always noticed that the villages, towns and cities were so much intertwined by the chain of supermarkets and other retailers that it was very difficult to find those small shops, which were still run by shopkeepers and their families. Hand made German specialities like grand father clocks, cuckoo clocks, other wooden crafts and ceramics were mostly found in Black forest areas (Schwarz Wald) and Bayern (Bavaria) regions. They were also the tourist studded areas of Germany, so the artisans were impersonal and professional in their approach. Well, wine, beer, breads, chocolates and cheese were some other crafts or delicacies which were of course in abundance in all regions and  were versatile according to the region, soil and culture.

Here in Scotland the very first thing I noticed was the dominance of local taste, in the forms of tartans, bagpipes, ceramic vessels, shortbreads and not to forget scotch whisky! Scotland boasts for gaelic and celtic designs and little shops still exists in small towns as well as in big cities (may be a bit hidden behind the shadows of multi stored supermarkets) selling these local items.

Today I and 'J' got an opportunity to visit a local craft fair, it was a wonderful experience to talk with local artisans about their crafts,  patience and courage they need to keep going and keep maintaining their skills, which have been developed and produced in this region for generations but are facing a huge competition from global produces. A potpourri box made up of wood, a silver earring inspired by Mackintosh designs, a pendent made from colourful blown glass, felt covered personal diaries, T-shirts with celtic prints, hand dyed silk scarves, oil paints of local areas; choices were many and each of them were showing the care which has been taken to give them those tempting forms. But on looking at the price tags, I could feel the temptations withering away, and in spite of knowing the unfairness hidden in it, I could not stop myself from comparing the prices with other shops where things are sold in cheaper prices as they bring them from far east.

My holiday trip to India recently also put the same question in front of me. I noticed how the chains of big retailers are grasping the local markets and their products. A large crowds of computer savvy urban young Indians feel very comfortable to buy things from these big malls. A kind of uniformity is resulting from this, which is on one hand comfortable in terms of style, price and quality but is also very predictable,  as sometimes it used to feel in Germany.

We enjoyed our time in the craft fair a lot and I and 'J' ended up buying two lovely handmade necklaces today but while coming out  of the fair many questions kept hovering in my mind.

Is it necessary to have so many material flooded competitive priced supermarkets all over the world?  Is it not unfair to flatten our diverse surrounding? Cannot we do something extra to patronise the local essence of our lives?

Living a decade in Europe: Some thoughts

Courtsey-Google Images

At every scientific meeting I have attended so far in Europe I have faced a comparative question about why so many Indians come out for education, higher research and high skill jobs like doctor, engineers and lawers? The answer is obvious high population and less opportunities (things are changing in positive way). It is a joke in this part of the world that if any professor has a open job position so he must be sitting on the heap of applications from India or China. Unlike in USA which is a country of immigrants and where the trend is to invite (or buy?) best brains from all over the world (atleast till now!), in Europe laws are more stringent and emplowers are more skeptical.

I have worked in Germany and UK (see later blogs) and found that two countries have very different history and attitude towards handling high skilled labours in their lands.

History of large number high skilled labour immigration is comparatively new in Germany. Germany had not many colonies so immigration was never that big. After world war - II in order to rebuild the nation (then West Germnay) this country had to bring extra hands from countries like Italy, Turkey and Russia. But entry of PhD students, computer professionals, doctors have mainly started in last 30 years. 

To start with, in Germany, government has taken care that every legal immigrant occupying a salaried position (who pay taxes) should be provided with equal benefits like a German national. I was provided with  maternity leave (with salary), medical benefits, child benefits, unemployment benefit (for one year) and career development offers (where government fully support career development courses). German being their official language, Government also take initiatives  to provide language (highly discounted) courses to integrate the new comers in this country. Due to lack of their own high skilled people (specially in software) and multinational nature of the private industries/companies, they started accepting english speaking emloyees from the advent of globalisation era. But of course a verbal and written knowledge on German is an add-on. Government sectors like hospitals, schools, universities and council offices are strict about advanced knowledge of German for their employees as they work in national environment. Universities particularly dwell on all or none policies (changes are going on), meaning academic ladder starts from Phd, then post doc, then habilitation and finally a full professor postions. Where except a professorship all other positions are temporary, and the availability of professor's chair is very diffcult if not rare. This creates exit of not only  foreign students who come for higher studies but also many German nationals who want to stay in academics. Foreign nationals from develoing countries who after completing a higher degree in Germany wants to return back to their country of origin are provided with very good guidance for re-integration.

So in a nut shell Germany provided me a golden opportunity to dwell in science, learn a new language, visit several  EU (schengen) countries and as a whole get a glimpse of continental Europe.

But if given a choice would I have lived there for rest of my life? I don't know.