Re: telugu-kansan in insular california

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:05 pm

Kinnera wrote:
Edit: oh btw, lehengas are out of fashion now. The south indian half sarees (oni) are the current trend. Fashions keep changing and get recycled.

https://www.google.com/search?q=half+saree&client=firefox-a&hs=D7o&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=a3PWU_myAcypyATN3ILYCg&ved=0CD0QsAQ&biw=1920&bih=943

Now don't get me started... My high school celebrated its centennial last month and posted pics on teh website of different batches. Suddenly, I got curious and skimmed through pics from every year. The first half-saree I came across in a group picture was from 1992. It matches my "observation." In 1994I saw the only 1/2 saree at the Delhi train station (Hazrat Nizamudin?) , and shockingly I saw ONE girl in a half-saree this past december in madras (must be an ABCD.. Razz

)

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:08 pm

Kinnera wrote:
Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:
Kinnera wrote:

Edit: I went through some secondary essays for med school admissions. One of the common questions for most colleges was the diversity question. Students need to convince that they can adapt to any kind of situation, are interested in learning new things and can get along fine with any type of diverse group. That's a huge thing! Seems like no whiners are encouraged or appreciated.

Ohhh...you still doing it?... so are you applying for this year? Did you write the essays?
Nopes, that was in sep-oct last yr. Why will i write his essays? I went through the questions and gave feedback to his essays.

But why ? It was his essay and his diversity view is different from your view of diversity. Are you sure your "feedback" helped (or hurt his essay?)

by b_A Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:17 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:in many ways this guy sounds like a male version of PN. she used to have similar opinions.

You couldn't be more wrong. PN is neither a female nor a telugu. And the beauty is the cover that being a semi-ABCD provides for the perfunctory knowledge.

by nevada Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:32 pm

confuzzled dude wrote:
nevada wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
nevada wrote:He does make some valid points but some of his claims seem unbelievable. In small towns in the US, motel owners, gas station owners, etc are big sponsors of "desi" cultural events. Given that they are mostly Gujarati and Punjabi respectively, desi cultural events are Bhangra, Dandia, etc. I can't believe he never attended even one such event in his life.

there is only so much time in a child's schedule between academics, sports, and other extra curricular activities. when it comes to choosing to spend time and money on cultural activities -- the choices are pretty clear, one has to pick some combination of bharathanatyam/kuchipudi, carnatic music, religious instruction and language classes and the bollywood thingamajig. many parents i know give the bollywood thing a complete miss. OTOH many parents i know also give all the rest except bollywood a complete miss too. it completely depends on what the parents consider elements of their culture, that is worth passing on to their kids.

having said all that, i do understand a certain pressure for kids to fit in and identify with the majority. after all they are children. growing up is all about resisting that when it's in their better interest and to grow internally. looks like this guy's parents did a fine job in raising a wonderful young man.

If he never attended a bhangra/dandia that is fine but atleast he would have seen fliers for such events at his local desi grocery store? It must have been remarkable circumstances the young man grew up in that he never came across the word bhangra until he attended that desi gathering at the university.
Well.. he grew up in Kansas not in New York It would've been perfectly OKAY if he didn't hear about Kuchipudi either, after all he was raised in the US.

I once lived for 2-3 in a small town in Texas. Within those 2-3 months I went to a free screening of a Manoj Bajpai movie and then to a dandia event. The dandia event was free as well, and they served food too - for free. Indians of all linguistic origins congregated there - businessmen, doctors, engineers, software guys etc. In such remote places Indians are generally happy just to see another Indian.
So I thought maybe he had a similar exposure to desi events in whatever small town he grew up in.

by nevada Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:38 pm

b_A wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:in many ways this guy sounds like a male version of PN. she used to have similar opinions.
You couldn't be more wrong. PN is neither a female nor a telugu. And the beauty is the cover that being a semi-ABCD provides for the perfunctory knowledge.

Interesting.

by Kris Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:01 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kris wrote:
>>> +1. I would add that if these are kids raised here and are looking at narrower and narrower prejudicial parameters to define themselves, they are missing out on the broad identity this country gives. The parents do play a major role in this from what I have seen locally.

the two are not necessarily at odds with each other. here in the east coast, the jewish people are an excellent example of navigating an american identity while steadfastly maintaining a strong jewish cultural identity.

that apart, i am not sure what you mean by narrower and narrower prejudicial parameters. it's very easy to argue that the very notion of an indian identity is diversity at its core. there is no reason to accept bhangra, garba, and bollywood as the defining attributes of the indian part of the indian-american identity. the kid was just objecting to that.

>>>That is not my point. In fact, my point may even be the opposite of it. There is no reason to confine himself to an 'indian-american' identity either. It is a free world. If anything this society allows him to set his own boundaries. He has his own interests, be it carantic music or rap, just like others do theirs. What is the reason for him to take umbrage and ruminate over someone asking him if he didn't know Bhangra? To make a point, he doesn't know Swahili either, presumably something he doesn't sleep over. I agree with Propa's theory on the hypersensitivity involved here.

P.S. It seems rather odd that someone who grew up in an Indian family, with parents from Bangalore and Hyderabad has not heard the words 'naan' and 'tandoori'. Maybe something thrown in for effect, but takes away from the credibility for me.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:36 pm

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:
Kinnera wrote:

Edit: I went through some secondary essays for med school admissions. One of the common questions for most colleges was the diversity question. Students need to convince that they can adapt to any kind of situation, are interested in learning new things and can get along fine with any type of diverse group. That's a huge thing! Seems like no whiners are encouraged or appreciated.

Ohhh...you still doing it?... so are you applying for this year? Did you write the essays?
Nopes, that was in sep-oct last yr. Why will i write his essays? I went through the questions and gave feedback to his essays.

But why ? It was his essay and his diversity view is different from your view of diversity. Are you sure your "feedback" helped (or hurt his essay?)

If he wants his mommy's views to write his college essays, then there should be something wrong with him. My feedback was on the presentation and flow of the essays. Views were all his. Duh!

by Obnoxious Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:51 pm

Kinnera wrote:'Boo hoo hooo! I grew up in a telugu ghetto, was never exposed to anything outside of that ghetto, I know nothing about the rest of India and hence feel like an alien in an indian club. So I whine, whine and whine and whine some more'
Tell this kid to append this article to a college application. His application is going to be dumped in trash without a second thought.

Why should he know anything about Rest of India? He isn't an Indian. North Indian culture is NOT my culture period. Nor is his.

by Obnoxious Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:56 pm

Kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
confuzzled dude wrote:
Propagandhi711 wrote:

majority of telugus brought up in residual A.P would feel even more disconnected to the culture of hyd with the language, food and customs even though it's supposed to be filled with majority telugu speakers. that would be true even now. so?
Would it be fair to ask those errabassu guys to prove their teluguness to Hyderabadis? I guess that was the author's point. Whatever happened to bhinnatvam lo ekatvam?
Most errabassu ppl are smart and savvy. They learn and adapt, not whine and whine. If they keep whining they remain the erranassu guys forever and whine forever. Btw, this kid is an ABC(yeah C)D kid from Kansas, not from some remote region in AP

why would a kansan-telugu be expected to know about bhangra and garba? he is a telugu from kansas. he says he knows more about carnatic music and telugu cuisine (expected), and i am sure he knows a lot about kansas.
Knowing more about carnatic music and telugu cuisine doesn't mean that he shouldn't know about or learn about bhangra and garba.

Why should he bother knowing about them?

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:57 pm

Kris wrote:
>>>That is not my point. In fact, my point may even be the opposite of it. There is no reason to confine himself to an 'indian-american' identity either.

that's rather an odd criticism of him considering he opened with your point!

As an incoming Freshman at UC-Irvine, I was amazed to see that more than half the tables at the student activities fair were ethnic, not interest, organizations.

Kris wrote:I agree with Propa's theory on the hypersensitivity involved here.

you mean the propa who said this later in the thread?

if someone speaks to me in hindi I respond in english or telugu, that goes for some of my telugu friends from hyderabad and northindians. presumption pisses me off

looks like nithin coca was pissed off too and decided to write about it.

on a different but broader point, things have changed in one generation. i have many first cousins through marriage who were born and raised here. most, but not all would go to great extremes to distance themselves from their indian identity. not so with this generation. they know so much more about their roots and are strongly grounded to their indian identity. i don't see this as a weakness or some kind of ghetto mentality, but a sign of a more confident group of kids who are surefooted and proud about their roots. still there will invariably be pitfalls and minor identity-related irritations as they navigate through life. i'd be a lot gentler with these kids than the folks here.

by Kris Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:18 pm

i don't see this as a weakness or some kind of ghetto mentality, but a sign of a more confident group of kids who are surefooted and proud about their roots. still there will invariably be pitfalls and minor identity-related irritations as they navigate through life. i'd be a lot gentler with these kids than the folks here.

>>> The 'pride in roots' aspect is an individual thing and is obviously healthy as long that is not the sole factor that circumscribes a young man's life or is latched on to create a contrived sense of identity. Ironically, there is a bhangra gang hereabouts which my kids allege is an exercise in the latter. Coca does go on to talk about his other experiences, which makes it all the more puzzling as to why this 'bhangra' crowd's slight- real or imagined- played so much with his head.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:22 pm

Kris wrote:

i don't see this as a weakness or some kind of ghetto mentality, but a sign of a more confident group of kids who are surefooted and proud about their roots. still there will invariably be pitfalls and minor identity-related irritations as they navigate through life. i'd be a lot gentler with these kids than the folks here.
>>> The 'pride in roots' aspect is an individual thing and is obviously healthy as long that is not the sole factor that circumscribes a young man's life or is latched on to create a contrived sense of identity. Ironically, there is a bhangra gang hereabouts which my kids allege is an exercise in the latter. Coca does go on to talk about his other experiences, which makes it all the more puzzling as to why this 'bhangra' crowd's slight- real or imagined- played so much with his head.

i don't think it is. he has had other life experiences which suggest that. somehow my sympathies are completely with him rather than other middle aged indians like me who are writing on this thread.

as to why the bhangra thing played on his head, cut him some slack. neither you nor i had the experience of negotiating adolescence and young adulthood in this country, especially as a member of a minority of a minority. we came here as reasonably fully formed adults.

by Kris Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:40 pm

>>That's a good point. It could be part of growing pains. Hopefully, he will grow out if it. I try to deal with it preemptively with my kids because they hear things from their peers on what "indian parents" are like and I have to assure them this demographic segment is not a monolith.

by bw Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:11 pm

i haven't read all the posts but "nithin"? what kind of telugu name is that? straight reject, "h" notwithstanding.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:23 pm

Obnoxious wrote:
Kinnera wrote:'Boo hoo hooo! I grew up in a telugu ghetto, was never exposed to anything outside of that ghetto, I know nothing about the rest of India and hence feel like an alien in an indian club. So I whine, whine and whine and whine some more'
Tell this kid to append this article to a college application. His application is going to be dumped in trash without a second thought.

Why should he know anything about Rest of India? He isn't an Indian. North Indian culture is NOT my culture period. Nor is his.

What's your culture again?

South Indian? But Tamil or Malayalam or Kannada cultures are not your culture.
Telugu? But Telangana culture is not your culture.
Andhra Pradesh? Rayalaseema is not your culture
Andhra? Guntur, Vijayawada and other areas don't have your culture
Vizag? But you are a Brahmin. Non-brahmin culture is not yours.
Brahmin? But there are subsects in it...

....it can go on and on until your individual self, i guess. You can live like an island.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:32 pm

Obnoxious wrote:
Kinnera wrote:Knowing more about carnatic music and telugu cuisine doesn't mean that he shouldn't know about or learn about bhangra and garba.
Why should he bother knowing about them?

He need not know. But why the bother? Why should he be bothered about others doing bhangra and garba? It's their choice. Why the whining?

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:36 pm

Kinnera wrote:
Obnoxious wrote:
Kinnera wrote:Knowing more about carnatic music and telugu cuisine doesn't mean that he shouldn't know about or learn about bhangra and garba.
Why should he bother knowing about them?
He need not know. But why the bother? Why should he be bothered about others doing bhangra and garba? It's their choice. Why the whining?

he wasn't. he was bothered about others assuming that since he has some indian heritage, that he must know about bhangra and garba.

this is like europeans assuming that since i am american i identify with sarah palin or rick perry.

by bw Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:38 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
Obnoxious wrote:
Kinnera wrote:Knowing more about carnatic music and telugu cuisine doesn't mean that he shouldn't know about or learn about bhangra and garba.
Why should he bother knowing about them?
He need not know. But why the bother? Why should he be bothered about others doing bhangra and garba? It's their choice. Why the whining?

he wasn't. he was bothered about others assuming that since he has some indian heritage, that he must know about bhangra and garba.

this is like europeans assuming that since i am american i identify with sarah palin or rick perry.

slowly catching up...

weird that someone who has traveled through 44 countries hasn't heard of these dance forms. seems like the south indian equivalent of the north indian who hasn't heard of BN or kathakali. or he is putting on a very contrived image to pander to a certain crowd.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:47 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
Obnoxious wrote:
Kinnera wrote:Knowing more about carnatic music and telugu cuisine doesn't mean that he shouldn't know about or learn about bhangra and garba.
Why should he bother knowing about them?
He need not know. But why the bother? Why should he be bothered about others doing bhangra and garba? It's their choice. Why the whining?

he wasn't. he was bothered about others assuming that since he has some indian heritage, that he must know about bhangra and garba.

this is like europeans assuming that since i am american i identify with sarah palin or rick perry.

There are many things that ppl assume wrt to any identity. The assumption depends on what the mainstream or the majority belonging to that particular identity grp go with. If you are a tambram, ppl assume that you must know how to make arachuvitta sambar. But if you haven't heard about it, that's ok. You don't have to feel offended by it. You can simply say that you don't know and move on or make an attempt to know about it. There's no need to all sensitive and whiny about it.

PS: you is generic.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:54 pm

bw wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
Obnoxious wrote:
Kinnera wrote:Knowing more about carnatic music and telugu cuisine doesn't mean that he shouldn't know about or learn about bhangra and garba.
Why should he bother knowing about them?
He need not know. But why the bother? Why should he be bothered about others doing bhangra and garba? It's their choice. Why the whining?

he wasn't. he was bothered about others assuming that since he has some indian heritage, that he must know about bhangra and garba.

this is like europeans assuming that since i am american i identify with sarah palin or rick perry.

slowly catching up...

weird that someone who has traveled through 44 countries hasn't heard of these dance forms. seems like the south indian equivalent of the north indian who hasn't heard of BN or kathakali. or he is putting on a very contrived image to pander to a certain crowd.

as i remarked on a reply to kris, gobs of sympathy for this young man, and ready to forgive his somewhat minor lies, and much less sympathy for northindian-influenced andhrites posting on this thread.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:57 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

as i remarked on a reply to kris, gobs of sympathy for this young man, and ready to forgive his somewhat minor lies, and much less sympathy for northindian-influenced andhrites posting on this thread.

As i was replying to obnoxious, if we have to boycott bhangra and garba, we got to boycott bharatanatyam too because it is not our andhra culture either. We should be patronizing only Kuchipudi because only that one is andhra based. But as someone from Rayalaseema, i don't know if i should be enjoying Kuchipudi either, because that is from the andhra region.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:57 pm

Kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
bw wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
He need not know. But why the bother? Why should he be bothered about others doing bhangra and garba? It's their choice. Why the whining?

he wasn't. he was bothered about others assuming that since he has some indian heritage, that he must know about bhangra and garba.

this is like europeans assuming that since i am american i identify with sarah palin or rick perry.

slowly catching up...

weird that someone who has traveled through 44 countries hasn't heard of these dance forms. seems like the south indian equivalent of the north indian who hasn't heard of BN or kathakali. or he is putting on a very contrived image to pander to a certain crowd.

as i remarked on a reply to kris, gobs of sympathy for this young man, and ready to forgive his somewhat minor lies, and much less sympathy for northindian-influenced andhrites posting on this thread.
As i was replying to obnoxious, if we have to boycott bhangra and garba, we got to boycott bharatanatyam too because it is not our andhra culture either.

knock yourself out, but i won't be boycotting saint thyagaraja, annamayya, and patnam subrahmanya iyer anytime soon.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:01 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
bw wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

he wasn't. he was bothered about others assuming that since he has some indian heritage, that he must know about bhangra and garba.

this is like europeans assuming that since i am american i identify with sarah palin or rick perry.

slowly catching up...

weird that someone who has traveled through 44 countries hasn't heard of these dance forms. seems like the south indian equivalent of the north indian who hasn't heard of BN or kathakali. or he is putting on a very contrived image to pander to a certain crowd.

as i remarked on a reply to kris, gobs of sympathy for this young man, and ready to forgive his somewhat minor lies, and much less sympathy for northindian-influenced andhrites posting on this thread.
As i was replying to obnoxious, if we have to boycott bhangra and garba, we got to boycott bharatanatyam too because it is not our andhra culture either.

knock yourself out, but i won't be boycotting saint thyagaraja, annamayya, and patnam subrahmanya iyer anytime soon.

Why not? Why are you into our telugu culture and language? Stay off!

PS: Read my edited post above.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:04 pm

Kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
bw wrote:

slowly catching up...

weird that someone who has traveled through 44 countries hasn't heard of these dance forms. seems like the south indian equivalent of the north indian who hasn't heard of BN or kathakali. or he is putting on a very contrived image to pander to a certain crowd.

as i remarked on a reply to kris, gobs of sympathy for this young man, and ready to forgive his somewhat minor lies, and much less sympathy for northindian-influenced andhrites posting on this thread.
As i was replying to obnoxious, if we have to boycott bhangra and garba, we got to boycott bharatanatyam too because it is not our andhra culture either.

knock yourself out, but i won't be boycotting saint thyagaraja, annamayya, and patnam subrahmanya iyer anytime soon.
Why not? Why are you into our telugu culture and language? Stay off!

PS: Read my edited post above.

because i don't see telugu musical culture as being separate from tamil musical culture. patnam subrahmanya iyer, ethnically a tamil, composed in telugu. papanAsam sivan ethnically a telugu, compsed in tamil.

thyagaraja's compositions which i grew up with always move me to tears. it is not your telugu culture. it is the heritage all who love carnatic music -- telugus, tamilians, kannadigas, and malayalis. so get off your high horse.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:09 pm

you say pride, i hear insecurity.

by Kayalvizhi Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:13 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.8asians.com/2013/06/25/double-minority-south-indian-in-a-predominantly-north-indian-minority-community/

This fellow makes sense. here are some excerpts
'
North India is as foreign of a culture to me as China, Korea, or Russia,
India, as a country, was an invention of the British, as no pre-colonial empire ever controlled the vast subcontinent.

There are even seperate film industries in the South: in an average year, there are as many Telugu and Tamil films made as there are Bollywood Hindi films,
In America, 90% of Indian Americans in my generation trace their roots to the North, mostly Punjab and Gujarat, where Hindi is the lingua franca. My uniqueness was ridiculed at UCI because I didn’t fit their narrow idea of “Indianess.” I was considered ignorant

In California, though, it wasn’t just Indians who were forcing me to fit a certain image. Non-Indians would come up to me and say Namaskar, a Hindi greeting, or tell me that their favorite Indian dish was channa or daal, neither of which I’d ever heard of (in Telugu, the words are Senaga Puppu and Sambar). Few wanted to hear about how South Indian culture was unique. They were more interested in proving their own cultural knowledge than being open to learning.

by nevada Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:16 pm

Thread synopsis:
Nothing like a NI-SI debate to make the coffee house rock and roll! And there must be some huge rocks in Kansas because the young man most likely lived under one.

by Kayalvizhi Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:17 pm

I wish the Telugus on this forum are like that writer.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:19 pm

nevada wrote:Thread synopsis:
Nothing like a NI-SI debate to make the coffee house rock and roll! And there must be some huge rocks in Kansas because the young man most likely lived under one.

another synoposis: he has highly individualistic parents who asked him to ignore the crowd and find the truth.

by bw Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:22 pm

nevada wrote:Thread synopsis:
Nothing like a NI-SI debate to make the coffee house rock and roll! And there must be some huge rocks in Kansas because the young man most likely lived under one.

NI-SI threads and food threads - life is fun!

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:23 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
as i remarked on a reply to kris, gobs of sympathy for this young man, and ready to forgive his somewhat minor lies, and much less sympathy for northindian-influenced andhrites posting on this thread.
As i was replying to obnoxious, if we have to boycott bhangra and garba, we got to boycott bharatanatyam too because it is not our andhra culture either.

knock yourself out, but i won't be boycotting saint thyagaraja, annamayya, and patnam subrahmanya iyer anytime soon.
Why not? Why are you into our telugu culture and language? Stay off!

PS: Read my edited post above.

because i don't see telugu musical culture as being separate from tamil musical culture. patnam subrahmanya iyer, ethnically a tamil, composed in telugu. papanAsam sivan ethnically a telugu, compsed in tamil.

thyagaraja's compositions which i grew up with always move me to tears. it is not your telugu culture. it is the heritage all who love carnatic music -- telugus, tamilians, kannadigas, and malayalis. so get off your high horse.

Can't the same logic be applied to the bhangra, garba, dandiya, holi and diwali stuff that university indian kids enjoy? Do you have any idea how much fun they have? They love them because of the fun and enjoyment, not because they are from punjab or gujrat or north india or south india. They don't care about such stuff and don't know much about it either. They don't see these as being separate from indian culture just as you don't see the telugu musical culture as being separate from tamil musical culture. You got to appreciate those kids. They don't see the divisions. unity is always > separate entities.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:25 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
nevada wrote:Thread synopsis:
Nothing like a NI-SI debate to make the coffee house rock and roll! And there must be some huge rocks in Kansas because the young man most likely lived under one.

another synoposis: he has highly individualistic parents who asked him to ignore the crowd and find the truth.

If he had ignored the crowd, he'd have been better off. But he was bothered by it and kept whining and whining. The parents did a great disservice to him.

by Kayalvizhi Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:26 pm

>> Can't the same logic be applied to the holi and diwali stuff that university indian kids enjoy?

Why no Pongal (Tamil Nadu) or Dasara )Karnataka) or Onam (Keralam) celebrations? Why everythibng in centred north?

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:29 pm

Kayalvizhi wrote:I wish the Telugus on this forum are like that writer.

yeah, then there would be no one to appreciate your bharatanatyam, except tamilians. And we'd be ridiculing and objecting you tamilians for enjoying/singing/learning our telugu carnatic music compositions. That would be fun. won't it?

by nevada Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:30 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
nevada wrote:Thread synopsis:
Nothing like a NI-SI debate to make the coffee house rock and roll! And there must be some huge rocks in Kansas because the young man most likely lived under one.

another synoposis: he has highly individualistic parents who asked him to ignore the crowd and find the truth.

I don't see truth in his denial of any awareness of certain things commonly known to Indians in the US. Or, maybe I am being unfair - he probably lived under a rock after-all.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:32 pm

Kayalvizhi wrote:>> Can't the same logic be applied to the holi and diwali stuff that university indian kids enjoy?

Why no Pongal (Tamil Nadu) or Dasara )Karnataka) or Onam (Keralam) celebrations? Why everythibng in centred north?

Make them fun-filled and they'll celebrate them too.

by Kayalvizhi Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:33 pm

>> certain things commonly known to Indians in the US

What are those things?

by Propagandhi711 Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:33 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
bw wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Kinnera wrote:
Obnoxious wrote:
Why should he bother knowing about them?
He need not know. But why the bother? Why should he be bothered about others doing bhangra and garba? It's their choice. Why the whining?

he wasn't. he was bothered about others assuming that since he has some indian heritage, that he must know about bhangra and garba.

this is like europeans assuming that since i am american i identify with sarah palin or rick perry.

slowly catching up...

weird that someone who has traveled through 44 countries hasn't heard of these dance forms. seems like the south indian equivalent of the north indian who hasn't heard of BN or kathakali. or he is putting on a very contrived image to pander to a certain crowd.

as i remarked on a reply to kris, gobs of sympathy for this young man, and ready to forgive his somewhat minor lies, and much less sympathy for northindian-influenced andhrites posting on this thread.

xlation: I am ready to forgive and understand lies and go with someone's central thesis as long as it fits with my own prejudices.

ps: was someone thundering about hypocrisy of the american conservatives recently? I seem to vaguely recall someone doing that....

by Propagandhi711 Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:34 pm

nevada wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
nevada wrote:Thread synopsis:
Nothing like a NI-SI debate to make the coffee house rock and roll! And there must be some huge rocks in Kansas because the young man most likely lived under one.

another synoposis: he has highly individualistic parents who asked him to ignore the crowd and find the truth.

I don't see truth in his denial of any awareness of certain things commonly known to Indians in the US. Or, maybe I am being unfair - he probably lived under a rock after-all.

nothing in kansas except steers, queers and rocks

by nevada Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:36 pm

Kayalvizhi wrote:>> certain things commonly known to Indians in the US

What are those things?

Read the article to find out.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:36 pm

Propagandhi711 wrote:[
xlation: I am ready to forgive and understand your lies and go with someone's central thesis as long as it fits with my own prejudices.

as i said, i have way more sympathy for young people trying to navigate their way in the world than i have for old farts close to me in age who should know better.

by Guest Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:38 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Propagandhi711 wrote:[
xlation: I am ready to forgive and understand your lies and go with someone's central thesis as long as it fits with my own prejudices.

as i said, i have way more sympathy for young people trying to navigate their way in the world than i have for old farts close to me in age who should know better.

Make it a little more personal. You should know better before you wish others to know better.

by bw Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:46 pm

"The president of the club went up on stage and began speaking, smattering random Hindi words that I didn’t understand into his speech, talking about holidays I’d never heard. Diwali?"

------
right! the kid hasn't heard of diwali and if he can't figure out that diwali is a distortion of deepavali, he isn't all that bright. i will read the rest of his stuff later.

KV, you should adopt him pronto and adapt him as well. first off, change his name to "nithinaramayya".

wonder if he has been reading such.

by nevada Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:54 pm

bw wrote:"The president of the club went up on stage and began speaking, smattering random Hindi words that I didn’t understand into his speech, talking about holidays I’d never heard. Diwali?"

------
right! the kid hasn't heard of diwali and if he can't figure out that diwali is a distortion of deepavali, he isn't all that bright. i will read the rest of his stuff later.

KV, you should adopt him pronto and adapt him as well. first off, change his name to "nithinaramayya".

wonder if he has been reading such.

Let him decode "Namaskar" first. Maybe Nithin is short for Nithyanandam.

by Propagandhi711 Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:04 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Propagandhi711 wrote:[
xlation: I am ready to forgive and understand your lies and go with someone's central thesis as long as it fits with my own prejudices.

as i said, i have way more sympathy for young people trying to navigate their way in the world than i have for old farts close to me in age who should know better.

for a scientist, you are remarkably forgiving of things that dont add up in his story and accepting of his final conclusion. for some of us tho, the whole story rings false and made up to justify why he stayed away from his indian roots and was/is hanging around asians. nothing wrong with that, ppl are free to hang around with who they like but making up tall tales of oppression and alienation by the oppressive majority will elicit derison from the rest that dont share certain prejudices that a few old farts seem to belabor under.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:04 pm

Propagandhi711 wrote:
nevada wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
nevada wrote:Thread synopsis:
Nothing like a NI-SI debate to make the coffee house rock and roll! And there must be some huge rocks in Kansas because the young man most likely lived under one.

another synoposis: he has highly individualistic parents who asked him to ignore the crowd and find the truth.

I don't see truth in his denial of any awareness of certain things commonly known to Indians in the US. Or, maybe I am being unfair - he probably lived under a rock after-all.

nothing in kansas except steers, queers and rocks

and sri srinivasan.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:09 pm

Propagandhi711 wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Propagandhi711 wrote:[
xlation: I am ready to forgive and understand your lies and go with someone's central thesis as long as it fits with my own prejudices.

as i said, i have way more sympathy for young people trying to navigate their way in the world than i have for old farts close to me in age who should know better.

for a scientist, you are remarkably forgiving of things that dont add up in his story and accepting of his final conclusion. for some of us tho, the whole story rings false and made up to justify why he stayed away from his indian roots and was/is hanging around asians. nothing wrong with that, ppl are free to hang around with who they like but making up tall tales of oppression and alienation by the oppressive majority will elicit derison from the rest that dont share certain prejudices that a few old farts seem to belabor under.

i don't see what your problem is. i can identify with his irritation at others making certain assumptions about his cultural antecedents. this is no different from what you yourself said somewhere else in this thread. i am also not sure where you are reading this narrative on "oppression" and "alienation". are you absolutely sure you are not reflecting some of your own insecurities and feelings onto what he actually wrote?

by Propagandhi711 Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:18 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Propagandhi711 wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Propagandhi711 wrote:[
xlation: I am ready to forgive and understand your lies and go with someone's central thesis as long as it fits with my own prejudices.

as i said, i have way more sympathy for young people trying to navigate their way in the world than i have for old farts close to me in age who should know better.

for a scientist, you are remarkably forgiving of things that dont add up in his story and accepting of his final conclusion. for some of us tho, the whole story rings false and made up to justify why he stayed away from his indian roots and was/is hanging around asians. nothing wrong with that, ppl are free to hang around with who they like but making up tall tales of oppression and alienation by the oppressive majority will elicit derison from the rest that dont share certain prejudices that a few old farts seem to belabor under.

i don't see what your problem is. i can identify with his irritation at others making certain assumptions about his cultural antecedents. this is no different from what you yourself said somewhere else in this thread. i am also not sure where you are reading this narrative on "oppression" and "alienation". are you absolutely sure you are not reflecting some of your own insecurities and feelings onto what he actually wrote?

feelings of alienation and oppression by the majority bolded for your re-reading pleasure.

"My uniqueness was ridiculed at UCI because I didn’t fit their narrow idea of “Indianess.” I was considered ignorant or, worse, a “coconut” (a South Asian “banana”). Instead of comforming to their idea of Indian, I took pride in my own language and culture. I learned that Telugu was one of the oldest written languages in the world, with a rich literature that dated back over 600 years, as long as that of English, and began practising speaking more often with my Grandma, even beginning reading lessons.
In California, though, it wasn’t just Indians who were forcing me to fit a certain image. Non-Indians would come up to me and say Namaskar, a Hindi greeting, or tell me that their favorite Indian dish was channa or daal, neither of which I’d ever heard of (in Telugu, the words are Senaga Puppu and Sambar). Few wanted to hear about how South Indian culture was unique. They were more interested in proving their own cultural knowledge than being open to learning.
It’s common among Asians to feel this pressure from society. But as a minority within a minority, it came in two layers. It forced me to be an outsider.
This shouldn’t be how it is. Few countries in the world are homogenous. In Asia, only Korea has a true, unifying language. Every other country is a fluid mix of languages, religions, and ethnicities. Double minorities like me exist everywhere, but we seem to be ignored in the overly pervasive – and completely wrong – idea that national identity and culture are interchangeable.
Does that make me any less of an Indian? Or just more of an Asian? For some reason, I doubt the Indian club would be any more accepting of me now as 10 years ago"

by confuzzled dude Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:30 pm

I think critics of Nithin are being too harsh. What are the odds of him deciphering the word deewAli in a first go without any surprises as deepAwaLi; none. His family probably didn't have any interaction with NIs. I'm not surprised that he found namaskar a bit odd, like I said before a Telugu raised in konaseema will find that usage a bit odd as well

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:32 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Propagandhi711 wrote:
nevada wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
nevada wrote:Thread synopsis:
Nothing like a NI-SI debate to make the coffee house rock and roll! And there must be some huge rocks in Kansas because the young man most likely lived under one.

another synoposis: he has highly individualistic parents who asked him to ignore the crowd and find the truth.

I don't see truth in his denial of any awareness of certain things commonly known to Indians in the US. Or, maybe I am being unfair - he probably lived under a rock after-all.

nothing in kansas except steers, queers and rocks

and sri srinivasan.

Isn't there another girl who helped co-found Yahoo.. another Tambrahmi woman...would not be surprised if she is related to Sri Sri.

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