A few South Asians have some interesting things to say about “contemporary Desi American” culture…

Author Hilal Nakiboglu just published her doctoral dissertation from the University of Pennsylvania titled “Being down with the brown“. Indolink writes that Nakiboglu observed second generation Desi students at colleges across the nation to study the “deeply complex coming of age rituals” that define our South Asian identity.

Her findings? Second generation Desi students tend to regularly engage in “creative arts of ethnic rebirth”. Considering I’m off to Detroit in an hour for Bhangra Fusion, a dance competition, I think Hilal is onto something with her work.

For years we’ve been talking about this whole “model-minority” definition of what it means to be South Asian. And even today, I think it’s still very relavent (I changed my major from English to Food Science and Human Nutrition back to English in the span of one year).

But I think what’s evolved more recently is this “cookie-cutter” definition of what it means to be South Asian. Can you dance? sing? act? Speak your native tongue? Do you know your Bollywood trivia? Is your sari actually trendy enough to wear in cultural fashion shows?
It seems like we second generation Desis feel compelled to prove our ‘Desiness’ through how well we can outwardly express our cultural identity.

Now I’m not pointing fingers at those who participate in cultural events (note: bhangra competition tomorrow). All I’m trying to say is that Hilal makes an obvious but well-affirmed point: we do use the “arts” to explore and affirm our cultural identity. Especially through cultural performances. And often.

*an interesting tangent could explore how the traditional South Asian mentality of measuring university worth by academic prestige is being replaced by this idea of elitism driven by cultural competency. You might be a tier 3 college but nobody really cares if one of your South Asian dance teams is the best in the nation.

In her dissertation, Nakiboglu pegs college-based South Asian student groups as “instrumental in providing a context for these youths to explore their Indian American identity”. As an example, she cites Penn Masala as reflecting a voice of second generation South Asians. I don’t know anyone currently in Penn Masala, but I do personally know and respect the members of Chai-Town- the all-male Hindi-English a Capella ensemble at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I think she’s right in asserting that these fusion groups (dance, singing, etc) do bridge the cultural gap between South Asian Americans and individuals of other ethic groups. And in accordance to the ideas of Nakiboglu’s dissertation, many of my friends accredit their experiences with various cultural (or any performance)groups as significant contributing towards their personal growth and identity construction in college.

Another scholar whose recent work also involves the extensive study of second generation Desis is Syracuse University’s Prema Kurien. In her new book titled “A Place at the Multicultural Table: The development of American Hinduism”, Kurien discusses how Hinduism is often either strongly rejected or passionately embraced by second generation Hindu Americans. While I think Kurien is definitely correct, a lot more Hindu Americans waver between both ends of this spectrum. I’m pretty sure their indifference or ambivalence towards Hinduism is caused by not knowing why they actually practice the religion to begin with (besides the cultural expectation).

Kurien is quoted saying, “the average Hindu immigrant is often unable to explain the “meaning” of Hinduism and its “central tenets”. I would have thought it would be the other way around, with Hindu Americans instead of Hindu immigrants. Interesting.

Kurien’s book illustrates how various Hindu American organizations-religious, cultural, and political- are attempting to answer the puzzling questions of identity outside their homeland. Self-described as the first in-depth look at Hinduism in the United States, the book emphasizing the importance of how social and cultural factors of the US affect the development of “American Hinduism”.

Kurien interviewed members of the HSC (Hindu Student Council) organization at various college campuses. Her findings indicate that many Hindu Americans have become very interested in exploring their cultural identity in India, especially through “social-service” non-profit organizations (such as inSPIRE).

Among these students who return to India, many say that they “know more about Hinduism and Indian culture than our cousins in India”. That’s not surprising. It’s pretty unrealistic to expect Indians who live in India to wear their culture on their sleeve. They obviously don’t feel the need to prove their “Indianness” because let’s face it- they live in India. That factor alone should be telling enough.

If you’re into the whole exploration of Desi identity, you might want to check out Sunaina Marr Maira’s book titled Desis in the House.