Getting to Know Your Community Members: The Arwin Iyer Family

BY DHYAAN IYER

Sunset Elementary Family

My name is Durga Iyer, and my husband is Arwin Subramaniam. We have a daughter and a son. Our daughter Ardra is a 6th grader at Pine Lake Middle School, and our son Dhyaan is a preschooler. My husband and I moved to the United States for our master’s degrees, and we completed graduate school in Massachusetts. I received an MBA, and my husband has a Master’s in Computer Engineering. We were in Boston for ten years and moved to Seattle in 2016. We call Seattle home now and are in love with the beautiful Washington state, the lakes, and the mountains. Our daughter Ardra started kindergarten here at Sunset Elementary and later attended the Briarwood Science Tech program.

We are originally from Chennai, Southern India. I am from the southwestern Indian coastal state of Kerala, the state often known as “God’s own country” for its lush greenery and tropical weather, with the Arabian Sea coast lining the state. My husband Arwin is from another ethnicity and speaks Telugu, which is one of the most popular spoken languages after Hindi. India being a very culturally rich and diverse country, we try to preserve our cultural roots and heritage and try to pass on some of our customs and culture to our children who are both born and raised in the United States.

Our daughter Ardra is a trained classical Bharatanatyam dancer. She speaks Malayalam and Tamil at home (both our native languages) and English. She loves art and literature and has done a lot of paintings and art exhibits locally in the Seattle area. She won the WA State PTA award for Essay writing/ Literature this year.

Our little boy, Dhyaan, will be starting kindergarten soon at Discovery.

We have immediate family in Australia, Singapore, Botswana, and the UK, so it always feels like a global community within a microcosm of a family unit. Our family functions are always a blast with cousins speaking different dialects or preferring to eat something unique, but usually, the pizza always wins! :)

Some of the things I love about our Indian culture are the food, the festivals, and the outfits of course! They are very diverse, colorful, and celebrate joy and togetherness on every occasion.

1. Food

When it comes to food and spices, India is no stranger to the world. From the spiciest of biriyanis, which is a kind of flavored rice cooked with either meat or veggies and loads of spices, to the sweetest of kheers or payasam, which is a milk dessert and tastes like pudding, Indian food variety and choice will spoil any food lover. My husband makes amazing dosas, a South Indian version of the crepe made with fermented and ground rice and lentils, often accompanied by the sambhar and an assortment of chutneys or sauces. We are vegetarian, and you will be surprised to see the variety of vegetarian food options in Indian cuisine. Another favorite variety is the “chaat” or street food which is famous in Mumbai and all over India. Panipuri, samosa, bhel puri, and vada pav are some chaat items that every Indian would love.

2. Festivals

On average, Indians celebrate 10-15 different festivals in a year. Hinduism is more of a culture than a religion with so many different Gods or forms of Gods that people worship. Like Shiva, Krishna, Ganesha, Kartikeya, and the Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. There are scriptures and stories for every God and Goddess, and overall teaches the universal spirit of goodness and service. Apart from Diwali, Christmas, and Eid, Navaratri is a big 9-day festival that honors the women worshipped in the form of different Shaktis or powers. Navaratri starts on Sep 26th this year and ends on October 4th.

Decorating the homes, welcoming friends, and families, cooking special delicacies, and wearing our Indian ethnic outfits make the festivals stand out. We love how close-knit our community is, and we celebrate our culture with so much joy every occasion we get.

3. Indian sarees and outfits

Needless to say, Indians love to dress up! Who doesn't, right? Well, with so many festivals and occasions to celebrate, most Indian women will have at least a few sarees in their wardrobe. And the jewelry and accessories that goes with it. The saree, which is 6 yards of silk or other material, is the most popular Indian attire for women. They are followed by lehengas or long skirts and salwar kameez, which is like a tunic and pant combination.

Sarees are as diverse as there the number of states in India. Where I come from, Kerala, is famous for the kasavu mundu saree. It is a simple white and gold saree weaved in cotton and silk and is worn during Onam, the Keralite festival. I am partly Tamil, and the typical Iyer wedding involves at least 7-8 sarees for different functions. I would have changed outfits some ten times for my 3-day wedding, which mainly comprised of kanchivaram silk sarees that are grand and colorful, and the lehenga mostly worn for parties or wedding receptions.

There is something about the saree that every time I drape one, I feel completely transformed. It is classic and elegant, and when draped the right way, it exudes feminine charm and charisma that every Indian woman would have experienced. I love bright colors as well as blacks and whites. I just love wearing sarees!