Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Padma Lakshmi says most Indian thing about her isn't food
Padma Lakshmi is a famous TV host who cooks food on a show called Top Chef.
She says the most Indian thing about her is not the food.
It is the way she raises her daughter.
She teaches her daughter to take off shoes and to be respectful to older people.
She wants her daughter to call relatives auntie and uncle and to call her grandmother.
Her daughter is biracial, so half of her family is American.
An expert named Gurleen Baruah says kids learn values by watching how their families live.
She says just telling kids rules is not enough.
Kids need real stories and conversations with elders.
Baruah says mixing tradition with modern life helps children feel proud of their roots.
Padma Lakshmi says the most Indian thing about her isn't food but values such as taking shoes off and respecting elders.
She raises her biracial daughter Krishna with Indian traditions like calling relatives auntie and uncle and calling her grandmother.
In Indian culture, any family member can discipline a child, and there is an age-based hierarchy with little need for explanation.
Organisational psychologist Gurleen Baruah says children absorb values from home culture through real examples, not just rules.
Baruah says blending tradition with modernity through intergenerational dialogue and community activities helps children stay connected to their roots.
- Who
- Padma Lakshmi, host of Top Chef, her daughter Krishna, and organisational psychologist Gurleen Baruah, culture consultant at That Culture Thing
- What
- A discussion of Indian parenting traditions, including respecting elders, taking shoes off, and raising culturally rooted children
- When
- Not specified in the articles
- Where
- Not specified; Padma Lakshmi spoke to The Juggernaut and Gurleen Baruah spoke to Indianexpress.com
- Why
- To explore how Indian cultural values and family traditions keep children connected to their heritage in a modern world
Tradition-First Parenting
Modern Blending Approach
Raising rooted children
Tradition-First Parenting
Strict Indian traditions such as age-based hierarchy and family-wide discipline keep children firmly rooted in their culture.
Modern Blending Approach
Children internalise values through meaning, shared stories and real examples, so old-school mandates alone do not work.
Generational expectations
Tradition-First Parenting
Parents often compare their own childhood with limited facilities and expect children to be grateful for having the best of everything.
Modern Blending Approach
With constant technological advancement, it is unrealistic for children to relate to a life without modern trappings, so parents must introduce roots.
Discipline and closeness
Tradition-First Parenting
In Indian culture any family member can discipline you, and if you are older there is not much need for explanation.
Modern Blending Approach
Padma Lakshmi sometimes bends her expectations to protect the closeness she shares with her daughter.
- Person
- Padma Lakshmi
- Role
- Host of Top Chef
- Daughter
- Krishna, described as biracial with 50% American family
- Indian traditions cited
- Respecting elders, calling people auntie and uncle, taking shoes off, calling grandmother
- Expert
- Gurleen Baruah, organisational psychologist and culture consultant at That Culture Thing
- Key message
- Children absorb values from home culture through shared stories, real examples, and community activities
- Sources
- The Juggernaut (via Instagram) and Indianexpress.com