I’ve run across a few friends in the big city recently with dreams of writing a desi Sex and the City, something about our lives rather than visas, spices and weddings. As utterly compelling as immigrant stories are, they’ve been done, and done well; it’s odd to me that The Namesake and Brick Lane are about their authors’ parents. There’s a different story waiting to be written about impressionists who cross seas with ease, The Talented Mr. Ripley minus the creepy criminality.
Meera Syal’s novel Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee is like that. It’s one of the two prosaic, non-literary novels I’ve most closely identified with. (The other is Love, Stars and All That by Kirin Narayan.) I’ve exchanged breathless words about this book with perfect strangers. Like hip-hop lit, it wasn’t the craftsmanship of the work I responded to, it was the familiarity; Syal was writing people I already knew.
As is usual in cultural matters, the UK is our Paris Hilton: those sods have not only done it, they’ve even filmed it, and soon they’ll post it on seedy sites all over the Internet. Syal has now filmed her novel as a miniseries which is airing on BBC1, the main Beeb channel, the first week of April (via Desi Flavor). It’s set in Ilford, an East London suburb which is the cultural equivalent of New Jersey.
… [Meera Syal] was “pleased” that a drama featuring three Asian women characters in lead roles was getting primetime positioning on Britain’s most popular channel. That she said was “a real breakthrough.”
Ayesha Dharker, the temptress in Bombay Dreams on Broadway, plays the simple, lovelorn protagonist, Chila. The ravishing Laila Rouass (Bombay Dreams London) plays her friend Tania, an idealized vixen who’s stepped outside the bounds and bonds of Asian-ness. Syal herself plays the author’s voice, the progressive lawyer Sunita who’s stuck in an unfulfilling marriage to her college sweetheart.
This is a female bonding story; the peripheral male characters are played by Sanjeev Bhaskar, Raza Jaffrey (Bombay Dreams London), Ahsen Bhatti and comedian Inder Manocha. Other members of the cast include Indira Joshi (The Kumars), Lalita Ahmed (Bhaji on the Beach) and Rani Singh.
British Desi’s are ahead of American Desi’s in terms of culture….look at all the music that comes out of the Punjabi and Desi community there, and the profile in the media there is greater too, in terms of television, cinema and so on.
I agree with Punjabi Boy’s assertion that British Desis are making serious cultural inroads. I think that is partly due to population and the turbulent history of South Asians in the U.K.
I have a question for Manish who noted his great affection with for Meera Syal’s “Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee.” I read the book years ago and enjoyed it. But I always had one nagging question which I’m hoping you could answer. WHY COULDN’T TANIA & DEEPAK MARRY EACH OTHER IN THE FIRST PLACE AND SAVE EVERYONE A LOT OF PAIN AND HEARTACHE? I never understood their backstory. Please break it down for me if you have the time or inclination. Thanks!
if anybody hears of this airing on BBC America, PLEASE post– I hate that we’re on the cultural short bus in this country and I have 4 shopping channels and 6 jesus channels, but nothing on premium cable for brown people. 🙁 Til then, there’s always Kumars at #42 and Goodness Gracious Me reruns…
MsWorld
Desis in the UK are the biggest minority group so they have an extremely high profile there. Just look at all the British Punjabi musicians that have worked with American Hip-Hop artists…Panjabi MC with Jay-Z, Twista, The Kray Twinz with DMX, Jay Sean with Timbaland, the list goes on, plus other artists like Cornershop and Talvin Singh….they just have a groovy culture and are very hip. I also think the profile of the community is different, they are not so spread out in terms of geography, they are close together in cities and are more confident of their identities, also more working class in some ways and that makes their stories and lives sharp and raw.
By the way, Laila Rouass is one hell of a sexy lady.
Keep in mind that many of the UK Indians are actually from East Africa, and may be two generations removed from India. This subset is used to remaking itself to survive. For all their rebellious, against the grain posturing, Indians in the UK have integrated better than Pakistanis and B’deshis. Through their parents efforts to provide a middle-class lifestyle, British-born Indians have the option to enter the arts, with a financial safety-net in place.
Laila Rouass is really good looking, but she’s a 50/50 – half Indian, half Arab.
KXB
Most of the Desi music comes from Engalnd comes from working class Sikhs whose parents are from Jalandhar. The Indian community in the UK isnt homogenous, and East African Indians there are a minority within the Indian community there. I reckon there are a whole range of cultural reasons why Pakistanis and Bangladeshis have not done so well as Indians in England, starting with the low priority given to female education in those communities compared to other sections of British society.
I lived in London for a sixth month period. I also did research on people of African descent in Britain, where upon I stumbled on the history and stories of South Asians in Britian. I was amazed to discover that the South Asian desis had formed a pretty tight coalition with Black Brits to address economic, social, and political grievances.
I read an interview years ago in Transition magazine, in which Gurinder Chandha said she grew up calling herself “Black” in political terms. That blew my American mind! But many political minded South Asians and Black Brits (especially the people who came over in the 1960’S) were tight pretty tight and used the term “Black” to identify themselves.
I also know that Hindu Indians have done much better economically and socially then their Muslim Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshian brethen. Basically, I know some stuff because I’m Ms. World! I wasn’t lying with that name. I”m also Ms. Black India but people hate on that!
“British desis are ahead of American desis in terms of culture”
True, but India’s cultural relationship with Britain outdates the literal existence of the U.S., so.
Indian culture is not non-existent in terms of American culture, it just doesn’t have a recognizably earned history that people consider to be part of the “American” experience (e.g. African American, Italian, etc.). And even if it did, it’s not a guarantee that people would be interested in hearing about it (i.e. not a whole lot of sitcoms about Jews, Latinos, etc. either). That said, at this stage even if people did want to hear about it, they’d still have a difficult time accepting it simply because they can’t understand why Indians rabidly participate in American culture and then still maintain a strong allegiance to their homeland (“U.S.A.! U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!”).
All things considered, said and done, in the fifty+ years we’ve really been affecting this country, we’ve done some things and have some culture. Sure, we don’t have the depth in music and other arts, but if you look around, there’s a whole lot of people working in those fields and setting the stage for the future. If anything, the immigration & recreation narratives (Mukherjee, Lahiri, blahblahblah, etc.), however trite, are at some point going to take place alongside post-colonial theory et al as a literary movement of some sort…
But, yes, we’re not on/in TV, music and cinema (we are in media, so) and maybe it’s because we’re just not that interesting. Whatever the case, like most things in this country, relatively new that it is, we’re the first to do whatever we do and although British Indians have their scene going on, it’s nice to be part of the group creating, not just participating in, the scene.
The first rule of drama is conflict. No conflict, no story.
Come now, the motherland is passionate and fascinating. But if you said the 1965 sieve let in pop culture customers rather than creators, I could get behind that.
Yes, but India doesn’t make Indian-American identity any more interesting than Israel makes Jewish-American identity interesting… British Indians do well, are interesting, etc. because they are defined by what they do and are in the UK, yes, and not just because people think where they come from is passionate and fascinating.
Take a culture, make another culture, create subculture, be a pepper, drink Dr. Pepper…
I don’t know if 1965 let in pop-culture customers, I just think it let in a different kind of creator and then a whole lot of consumers, a number of people who created their niche and were content to consume the Dream. That’s good, we need that, it creates the base from which we push and I don’t think we should a) ever disregard how much that has helped us do what we do now and b) ignore the speed at which we’ve moved from that history to create a distinctly “American” culture that is, I might add, not as shallow as all the movies [we make] indicate.
“maybe it’s because we’re just not that interesting.”
“That said, at this stage even if people did want to hear about it, they’d still have a difficult time accepting it simply because they can’t understand why Indians rabidly participate in American culture and then still maintain a strong allegiance to their homeland (“U.S.A.! U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!”). “
Santhosh- I’m not buying those argument! I almost think you are insulting Americans (because we can’t understand Indians) and Indians (they aren’t interesting) in the same post.
I think Americans haven’t had a lot of exposure to Indian culture and the more exposure they get, the more interested they may become.
I’m politically Black or “real” Black, I call it. I was raised around Black working class people in a midwestern city divided on the white and Black colorline. I’m very interested in Indian culture. Some Black people may accuse me of being too interested 😉
I’m not on this website simply to rant about or defend African-Americans (even though I’m genetically inclined to do that). I’m here because I’m interested in learning and getting info on what is happening in South Asia and with South Asians in America and it is a very fun website to read. Really, the Sepia people don’t pay me money even though they can if they like 🙂
I actually believe Indian culture will catch on in the U.S.A., eventually even cricket may catch on a litte outside South Asian and Carribean communities in the U.S.
I have no doubt in my “real” Black soul that Indian culture will eventually explode into American mainstream culture.
“… we just aren’t that interesting.”
To clarify, I was being ironic. To clarify via a different bent, it is also entirely possible that we haven’t shown Indian-American culture to be that interesting… “Indian” culture is interesting, that’s proven. “Indian-American” culture, on the other hand, has thus far only appeared as one big cultural fugue that we have often chosen to spoof rather than be serious about. And not to be obvious, but if we want people outside the lines to take Indian-American culture seriously we have to do so first.
“… you are insulting Americans (because we can’t understand Indians)”
I apologize, as I didn’t mean to be insulting. However, let me be clear in saying that most Americans, while they may understand Indian-Americans on a personal level, still don’t feel connected with the culture on a social level. And perhaps the reason for that is because Indian-American culture is so reliant on pure Indian culture that it doesn’t give the average American anything to relate to, it has yet to have an indigenous sensibility that is accessible as being “American”… It’s a question of “Indian culture in the U.S.” vs. “Indian-American culture.”
“… I’m interested in learning and getting info on what is happening in South Asia and with South Asians in America.”
Since you brought it up and because it’s relevant to this conversation… Why?
Santosh- you asked the 20,000 yen question. Why am I interested in South Asia? I don`t have time to explain it all here. But this is my short answer.
I
m a history girl from way back. And Im interested in modern India because its story from colonialism onward is in part the story of the 20th century (in my view). Im an internationalist and have been since I was 7 years-old. I was raised in a pro-Black home and have extended the sentiment to being pro-colored people. Please note I consider South Asians colored people. Im interested in colored folks from Japan to Pakistan to Lebanon to Senegal.I
m a born groupie and Bollywood appeals to that aspect of myself. Ive seen a few South Asian men who remind me of my father which is very interesting to me. I spent 6 months living in London and enjoyed my experiences with South Asian British culture there. I also found the sense of unity between Black Brits and South Asian Brits very refreshing.I
m very interested in watching the evolution of the South Asian American community as they come into their own on the cultural and political scenes. I remember what it was like in the 1970s growing up in the U.S. My family would get excited when Black people were on tv and about news on the first Black so-and so (Im in the post-civil rights generation). Im very excited for you all! Im also a born cheerleader. Basically, Im feeling desis.I would add that if you read my weblog -www.wordgyrl.typepad.com
you may be able to get more answers. However, my weblog leads into the greyer area of my feelings about being very much interested in another group of colored people who aren
t of African descent. Basically, Im feeling desis but Ive been through periods where Ive felt torn about feeling desis.I think its very acceptable for me as an African-American to want to go to London or Paris or Tokyo. However, when I tell people (white, Black, etc.) that I
m planning to travel around India for 3-6 months or when people realize that Im not ignorant of the world beyond my American or Japanese neighborhoods – I get weird reactions.I know that I
m upsetting some type of white/Black paradigm. I think its perfectly acceptable and preferred that African-American people stay in the box that is related to themselves or African-related interests. However, I be damn if Ill allow any person (white, Black, family members, friends, enemies, South Asians, Japanese,) to confine my life, definition of self, and interests to a box. People fought and died for me to be the person that I dreamt of. And I`m dreaming of India.