Chai Time Connects People: India

Anamika Anand

Third-year Doctoral Student
Graduation Program in Sustainability Science

This time, I interviewed Anamika from India. Anamika is a proactive student who engages in various activities; thus, she can often be seen in many places on campus. When I first met her, she introduced herself, saying, “My name is the same as Mika, a Japanese girl’s name,” and she smiled a friendly smile.

Chai Is an Important Communication Tool

Anamika was born and raised in a city called Sultanpur with her big family. The local community is where everyone knows everyone. When a mother has an urgent errand and cannot pick up her child from nursery school, someone picks up her child before she even asks. The neighbors were so close that it may have sometimes felt annoying. However, Anamika discovered the value of such relationships once she had left her home country.

In India, men and women often spend time with their friends, whether engaging in daily activities or enjoying conversations over chai. In Japan, men generally go for a drink and chat but rarely go for tea just to enjoy talking like Indians do. Anamika wishes to talk with her future husband a lot when she gets married.

Am I Really Independent in Such a Safe Country?

Anamika says that Japanese society’s kindness is “next-level kindness.” One night, at the beginning of her life in Japan, she was going home on the last bus of the day. She did not know that she needed to push the buzzer to get off at the next stop. When she realized the bus had already arrived at the last stop; the bus driver noticed her still on the bus, confused, and he understood the situation. He asked her where her bus stop was and drove the bus close to her dormitory. He waited in the bus to ensure she reached her door safely. She was impressed by his kindness.

Since then, she has encountered many kind Japanese people and feels grateful. However, she asks herself, “It seems that I can do anything on my own, but am I really an independent person?” She keeps asking herself this question because Japanese society is safe and kind, but outside Japan, things do not necessarily go this way. Therefore, Anamika humbly calls her independence “fake independence.”

If You Like Math, Do Not Hesitate! Go!

In India, a great mathematics country, the female population studying science comprises almost 50% of all students. As in Japan, there is a preconception that girls are not good at mathematics, but Indian girls do not hesitate to enter science courses. There must be some clue to increasing women’s population in science in Japan.

Anamika enjoys her life in Japan, but she sometimes misses her country, particularly in the spring and fall when the Holi and Diwali Hindu festivals take place. Her mind travels back to India, where colors fly around in the air.

(Interview and text by Shiori Sumida)

Left: Anamika participated in the Holi festival at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo.
Center: Rangoli, sand art created during Diwali.
Right: Rajasthani Cuisine at a popular restaurant where Anamika dined on her latest visit to India