Comments on: Indian Communities as Closed Entities

By: Guest post time! « Saroj on the Issues…

Guest post time! « Saroj on the Issues… — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:50:47 +0000

[...] Here’s a sample piece to get the ball rolling, it’s a post from last November on Indian communities as closed entities: http://sospokesaroj.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/indian-communities-as-closed-entities/ [...]

By: Swami

Swami — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:18:13 +0000

From what I have seen, there is a segregation of Indians definitely in the greater part of New York…so much so it’s down to the “caste” in the hindu affiliations here. If you were though to go to places with scarce amount of Indian people – there is a unity of togetherness there. It’s all about the Global Cafeteria. There are delegated corners within …and some float toward other benches…but for the most part we all bunch up. We group up – not to become segregated but to identify with our own- it’s odd. I grew up in a time when egos didnt take over these assoc. and it was fun to go to these events. Now it is all a political game as if you were being elected into the White House…unity is lost and well, I can see why the youth has turned to each other – when these adults bicker uselessly. You wanna teach culture – dont just show it on a stage, bring it down to the home and start by learning the language. Ramble Ramble. I just think barriers only exist from fear of being broken. Parents can only hold fear on a child that seeks to explore. If there is no fear – then the guilt trip – if that doesnt work, then the threat of suicide. lol

By: NJTrivedi

NJTrivedi — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:02:22 +0000

great points, as always. I remember how my high school was diverse in terms of its south Asian population, but it was always a non-issue. Despite our own cultures (Gujarati, Punjabi, Pakistani, West Indian, South Indian) and religions (Sikh, Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jain)…we had a very high level of respect for one another. Even if some of us weren’t from “India” per say, we were all proud to be “desi”. I’ve found unity lacking at Cornell (maybe it’s just me). Either it’s a function of some folks’ insecurities, but I can’t seem to escape the Guju “sugar” jokes.

But I think underneath all our jokes and pointy regionalist barbs, we recognize that India would be incomplete if it lacked any of our diverse cultures.

By: Sindhu

Sindhu — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:47:02 +0000

I wandered over here from a link that was posted on the Livejournal desi community… and I’m glad I did – I really liked the points you made here! I’m an Indian that has been brought up in a few different countries (so I don’t particularly hold a strong affinity to just any one location as my “home”) and I completely know what it’s like to be culturally mixed up. I am Tamil and I come from a semi-conservative Tamil household, but my parents never really stamped the “Tamil” label on my forehead. I have/had all sorts of Indian friends all throughout my growing up years, and never once did I question (or bother to think) about what TYPE of Indians they are/were. I just regarded them as Indian, whether they were Malayalee or Punjabi or whatever, because I didn’t know any better and, honestly, didn’t care to really differentiate them like that. Of course as I grew older I realized the rest of the world was largely concerned with segregating Indians according to the language they spoke or the religion they followed or the type of food they ate… which was something I hadn’t ever done before, and yet, was forced to acknowledge with the way people are within Indian communities. I can understand the necessity to keep the same type of people together (so their roots are preserved, etc) but I will never understand the need to ONLY stick to your own kind… especially since we all come from such a varied and diverse country like India! The sky is the limits as far as varieties of cultures in India are concerned, and that is a BEAUTIFUL thing we must all embrace.

I realize I’m rambling. I hope my comment made some sort of sense. Really enjoyed reading this post of yours!

By: Geeta

Geeta — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:06:23 +0000

My husband is Gujrati and I am Punjabi, which makes for enough diversity to last a lifetime. We have enjoyed exercising our palates with foods from one another’s native regions, as well as entertained ourselves by trying to speak in different languages. There is definitely something to be said for learning about the culture of our bodies (ie Indian, American, Malayalee, etc.) but I think even more needs to be said about promoting the culture of the soul…that of the true inner self which goes beyond the place we were born, the color of our skin, the clothes we wear, and the foods we eat…forgive me for sounding new-agey, but essentially the culture of the soul is love for all living entities. As wonderful as it is to learn about what makes us unique, our ultimate unity lies in discovering that which we all share. Only when that deeper connection has been established will we truly be able to celebrate our differences.

http://bhakticollective.com/2008/10/25/the-world-as-the-body-of-god/#more-358

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12643378