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Desi
- Jawahar Swaminathan


Desi. The word with no malice in itself is soon becoming a slur among desis. I live in the Bay Area, popularly known as the Silicon Valley - the best haven for Indian dream chasers. The past two years it is hard not to notice how Indian we are no matter where we live. I am referring to it as Indianism for the sake of discussion.

One of the lasting traits among us is our conformity to the prevalent ways. To put it straight, when in Rome we do as Romans would want to do. I see nothing wrong in embracing the culture of the place where you live. Nothing suits your body like local food; nothing excites you like local culture. One may argue that you lose your identity by doing so. What indeed you are doing is establishing your own identity.

The immigrant community that doesn't fraternize with the locals, is considered as the greatest threat to their culture. It is simply parasitic in nature. The Indian community can never be seen in such a light by any scrupulous society, considering the teeming contributions we made and still make.

When it comes to socializing, I would admit that we are far from novice. After all that is what the red hot kiln called colonialism spits, when tilted after more than two centuries of baking souls. Most of the desis we discuss today would even have the veterans who fought for our precious independence as grandparents. The fact reminds us that we have only spent fewer decades able to decide our destinies. We, the politically liberated Indians, strive harder than ever to shackle the colonial cuffs that crushed our self-esteem. We have spent centuries waiting for orders, permissions and the too-unreasonable-to-expect acknowledgments. We are victims of institutionalism. We still find it hard to do what we do just because we want to. We are learning to acknowledge ourselves and pat ourselves in the back for things we did well. We have come a long way my friends. Let us take some time to pause and look back the path we traveled and plan for the miles to go.
I believe in the citizens of tomorrow as much I thank our forefathers, for leading us to where we are today. My desi neighbor's 3 years old daughter who proudly identifies herself as an American-Indian, promises much more than what we wish to achieve. She embodies the bold generation which is competent enough to speak more than one language, mingle with friends of different cultural origins and shrug the laments of ever complaining grumblers. Trust me, we can do it.

Happy living!

I welcome any feedback on the topic discussed. Please send your comments to jawahs@yahoo.com

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