Round-robin ping-pong tournaments kick off on Thanksgiving at Sumedha Chablani’s house. The 90-plus players participate in either the kids’ or adults’ tournament—Chablani, CC ’11, plays with the kids. For Chablani, ping-pong is more than just a game—it represents her cross-cultural Thanksgiving.
The holiday itself is more to her than a day to eat turkey—it’s a day when her “two identities come together,” when her Indian background blends perfectly with her American roots. Just as Chablani’s household becomes a brewing melange of culture, people throughout America find themselves falling into the nation’s melting pot.
“Thanksgiving is the only holiday where I feel like I’m truly an American,” Chablani explained. “When I go with my mom to buy turkey, the cashier and I are able to exchange holiday wishes without hesitation.”
Essentially, the origins of Thanksgiving point to this same concept—the ability of different people to come together and celebrate without division. Even though Chablani begins her meal with a Hindi prayer of thanks, she doesn’t see the holiday as religious. “The concept of thankfulness,” she said, “it’s universal.”
Even before coming to America, Émilie Streiff, CC ’11, knew that Thanksgiving was a holiday that wasn’t limited to one specific religion or ethnicity. After moving from Australia, she spent her first Thanksgiving in a fashion similar to that of the original Thanksgiving. Her family—newcomers to America—and her American-as-apple pie neighbors sat down to a meal overflowing with autumn foods. Ever since, her French-Japanese family has hosted their own Thanksgiving dinners of “traditional Thanksgiving food” complete with “turkey and cranberry sauce.”
These simple Thanksgiving staples allow just about anyone to celebrate the holiday. Carl Jeanbart, SEAS ’11, is already planning on eating turkey to celebrate what he sees as “the most important American holiday.” “Everyone around America takes part,” he said. “It’s a secular celebration that’s open to anyone.” His father is so eager to take part in the festivities that he is flying in from Switzerland specifically for the occasion.
While both Streiff and Jeanbart see Thanksgiving as a day to eat foods that are strictly American, Chablani’s Thanksgiving is a day when traditional Indian food mixes with traditional Thanksgiving dishes. “Fresh turkey, yams, and sweet potatoes” are among “many Indian dishes, including paneer and roti,” she said. People around the table sip chai and mango lassi, a mixture of mango, yogurt, and milk from northern Indian, while many of the younger kids run to the bowl of fruit punch.
As Chablani explains to me the redundancy of the words “chai tea”—“chai” is the word for tea in Hindi—it is obvious that she really embraces Thanksgiving as a time to showcase her culture to those unfamiliar with it. For dessert, Chablani’s family serves apple pie and galub jaman, which are enjoyed by “a mixture of Indian family and friends, [her] father’s American colleagues, and [her] own Jewish and Catholic friends,” who all cover their plates with flavors from both cultures.
“On one hand it’s so Indian, on the other hand it’s so American,” she said. While the night begins with ping-pong and continues with many sitting down to watch football, it ends with a traditional Indian musical game of antakshari. “One team of adults sings a part from a song,” Chablani said. “Then the next team has to start a song with the last letter sung.” Cultures and generations blend further as “Haan haan baat ban jaaye,” a line from a song of the 1970 Bollywood movie Qurbani, is answered with, “I never knew, I never knew that everything was falling through...” from “Over My Head” by The Fray.
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