Here it is. This was bound to happen, and trust us this is just scratching the surface. There are so many things that we can discuss on this topic that we could have easily made a separate show for it! Rather, we will bring you a glimpse of our lives through installments of…
The Desi Dilemma.
If you are a fellow Desi born and raised in America (or another country other than India) than you can probably relate to some (if not all) of the things that we are going to share. And if you are not a Desi… then you can revel in the gratitude that you did not have to endure some of these things.
For starters there is the lack of awareness. Because of this, there is this misconception that all Indians are just that… one collective group of people who fall into the one category of Indian. This could not be more wrong as there are many different ethnicities and regional cultures that make it practically impossible to lump all Indians under an identical label. Just like there are regional differences in accents and mannerisms here in the US the same goes for India. Perhaps the biggest misconception is the thought that all Indians are Hindu…and that we all believe the cow is sacred.
If that has been you… get ready to have your mind blown!
The same goes for lack of awareness that leads to the inability to recognize differences amongst different groups of people, such as Muslims versus Sikhs (if you didn’t know there was a difference listen to Episode 7 to see that Sikhs are vastly different than Muslims- yet they still get lumped into the same category).
Being a Desi (more specifically a Punjabi) in America is not all bad- there are really cool aspects such as knowing another language, haldi, enjoying the benefits of Punjabi music/culture/food, cha, mangos, and creating your own words!
There are Desi Dilemmas that come free with being in a different country also (more than can be expressed in a single episode- but for a glimpse take a listen to Episode 8: The Desi Dilemma Part 1). Some things you may have heard of while other stereotypes may not be so accurate. That stereotype that all Indians are smart? Well, while we may not all be super intelligent, we don’t get to being academically inclined by birth. This leads to Desi Dilemma #1: being afraid of your parents’ reaction of not getting an A. That is the true reason that Indians tend to be more persistent in pursuing better marks (we’d rather not get another “meeting” with the dreaded belan!).
Because we did grow up in America, we wanted to see just how Desi we truly are (I mean, I think I am pretty Desi). We took the “How Desi Are you?” quiz from Penguin Digest to see how we actually compare. To find out our results, listed to Episode 7, and take the quiz and let us know in the comments how Desi you are! (Even if you are not naturally Desi, do you have what it takes to be considered a Desi?).
And because we do not have stereotypical American names, we decided to let a British person give us one! Take the “What’s your stereotypical American name according to a British Person” quiz to see what your name would be! (Even if you already have an American name, that’s okay, take the Buzzfeed quiz to let a British person name you… unless if your parents are British… then let another British person name you!). You can find out our names (which made me question the creator of this quiz) in Episode 7, and be sure to let us know in the comments what your name would be!
Check out the full Episode 8 right here on the website or on your favorite podcast app to hear more about the Desi Dilemma!
And check us out on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook (links at the top and left of the web page) for updates and fun sneak peeks of our upcoming episodes and extra content! Also, head on over to the Commuter Update blog to learn about some of the scary, weird, and funny things we experience on our commutes!
Extra content: