For the past week I have been absent from this website while on an anthropological excursion for SM (like anyone but my monkey assistants even noticed). Sometimes a blogger just needs to get out of their bunker and talk to the real people. The question I was seeking an answer to was a profound one. Do those states…you know, the ones up there near the Canadian border…do they even have any desis that live there? For my excursion I needed a field assistant. My brother (we will call him P to protect his real identity) has lived in Idaho for the past two years and served as a good travel companion.
From L.A. I flew to Portland, Oregon where I had a layover. While walking from one gate to the other I had my first desi sighting. It was a Sikh man with a long flowing beard and an unusually large turban who I spotted in the TSA security line. Upon closer inspection however, two things became clear. First, the man was white and not desi. Second, he was a TSA screener and not a passenger.
Four hours later (damn airline delays) I landed in Spokane, WA where I collected my possessions at baggage claim. I began to re-arrange some of my gear when a woman walked up to me holding a sign.
Woman: Excuse me but are you Mustafa?
Abhi: Heh. No, sorry.
Woman: I’m sorry but you are the only one that looked like he was…lost.
“Lost” of course was a very clever euphemism for “brown.” I didn’t mind though. The name “Mustafa” reminded me of a powerful figure with a glorious mane. For just a minute I forgot about my military short haircut and hummed a little Hakuna Matata as I waited on the curb for my brother to drive up.
Our first stop was Idaho Falls in southern Idaho. In racially homogeneous states it is difficult to tell if people are really looking at you differently or if it is your expectation that they will look at you differently that simply clouds your perception reality. Before I even walked through the door of the restaurant where we had dinner, I was subconsciously on the defensive. There are many of us who would never consider living in some cities or states based only upon our preconceived notions of what racial attitudes there must be like, regardless of the objective reality. Not at that restaurant nor at any other time during my trip was I made to feel uncomfortable. I was uneasy quite often though, mostly because of my own perceptions (and a seven day long beard that made me look menacing to myself).
The next day we reached the Grand Tetons National Park. This led to another observation. In our U.S. National Parks system, a system that brings in many visitors from every state, there isn’t much racial diversity. The overwhelming majority of visitors are white (a lot of them are retirees). Asian-Americans also represent pretty well, but not as much as one might expect. There are fewer Latino visitors than expected as well but African-American visitors are the rarest of all. National Parks are among the cheapest vacation options available to Americans. Pretty much anyone with gas money and a tent can have a good vacation with their family in one. Class and race should not be an issue and yet it is strikingly so. This is even more apparent on the popular and backcountry trails than near the visitor centers and scenic points. Why don’t more minorities visit our National Parks?
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The blogger and his brother in pursuit of a story for SM while searching for “brown” bears near the Grand Tetons. |
Next we went to Yellowstone National Park. I was keeping a running tab on how many desis we encountered during our trip. In five days I saw maybe fifteen and made a big deal about pointing out each family (to the annoyance of P). I didn’t see a single desi in the states of Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming outside of a National Park. In Butte, Montana I had P drive through the city slowly so that I could search for and take a picture of an Indian restaurant. Surely there must be a “Curry Palace” or something? There was none. I insisted that we stay in a desi owned motel but the odds were not in our favor. Doesn’t the AAHOA know that there is a lot of untapped territory up there?
And so I now wonder. Are there any SM readers that live in Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming? Should I have arranged a meet-up in one of those states last week? Would our meet-up have aroused suspicion?
My question remains largely unanswered. Are there any desis up there?
Side note: If anyone is interested in the non-anthropological aspects of my trip last week then I will have more pictures on my blog by late Tuesday.
hue…hue… not hew… in #101.
p.s. Thanks meena. i think pyrenees sounds like a plan. i’ll look it up.
razib,
You’re preaching to the converted, man…;) Swedish men be hot.
incidentally, I’m dooding babes in my sketchbook…
What Seeker (#93) said.
btw…what happened to the flickr idea ?
Abhi, the love and affection in your family is very touching, and nice to see.
Ha! My brother and I do this to each other- although it’s all the more annoying because we live in the Bay Area, where it’s not such a rare occurence.
Also, like Yo Dad, I call them dhebbras, and prefer them with yogurt. Mmmm. This reminds me I need to go visit my parents. 😉
Amitabh, It’s all manufactured to increase blog ratings. The blog networks wanted us to go in a more wholesome direction. In reality we are quite dysfunctional. For example I still call them theplas (which is what I remember my mom calling them too). I also like ketchup on my dosa which I refuse to eat with sambar (which annoys my dad to this day). When you turn the rock over it ain’t that pretty underneath.
Yo Dad Uncle:
Could you expand on the difference between Kathiawadi and Gujarati? My cousin married a Kathiawadi guy (originally from a village near Amreli?) and he says he is ‘not really Gujarati’. Also that his language is very different from regular Gujarati. He and his brother are both 6 feet tall and look Punjabi, is that typical of Kathiawadi people?
Note to everyone else: By mentioning they look Punjabi I am NOT trying to start another thread on the physical differences among Indians, nor am I saying that looking Punjabi is good or bad.
Note to everyone else: By mentioning they look Punjabi I am NOT trying to start another thread on the physical differences among Indians, nor am I saying that looking Punjabi is good or bad.
LOL.
dude, good call to add the caveat, but sad that you have to.
How do you look Punjabi?
yummy, although i’m damn picky about my chai…:)..fresh adu (ginger) needs to be shredded in and homemade masala, with freshly ground cardomom … just like my dad makes 😉
So i’m via USA, Uganda and Rajkot, am I Kathiawadi too? So confusing… please teach us yo dad..as my dad is currently out of the country traveling.. and also why do some gujus say, paisa (paiha) rather than prounouncing the ‘S’? what are the differences there? thank you! 🙂
amitabh: i’m laughing here, because most people confuse me as looking punjabi (i’m a guju), and love your ‘note’… too cute! so maybe i’m kathiawade? dunno… my brother looks like a carbon copy of pete sampras.. greek. 🙂
oh yeah, and that ‘note from amitabh’ goes to the greek ethnicity too… just carry it on….
greek jews would be offended, even insulted by the comparison… 8=)
machang, i thought about it … but i realized the sordid use the ladies and puliogre will put my pix to .. and i felt so cheap. so i nixed the idea.
we’ll leave it to abhi to straddle the screen and represent sepiates-out-there. the blogosphere isnt ready for too much brown meat.
besides,i think this thread’s about to go down real fast… somebody find a ruse … now.
greek jews would be offended, even insulted by the comparison
Greek Jews = Turkish = West Asian = Northwestern Indian = Punjabis.
Kathiawar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathiawar
that’s right, Razib. we have no trees in New Jersey and, hence, are robbed access to the “great outdoors” that you and folks like you living in the Northwest are otherwise afforded. 🙁
(although, granted, i’d take a hot, sunny day lounging around the beach at Sandy Hook over a twelve-hour hike trailing behind the sweaty bum of a naturist (and we all know how they smell!) just to make our way to the North Dome of Yosemite — yech!)
sweaty bum
sweaty is key. our summers are not humid. and that i believe explains the different perception of something like a nature hike…we aren’t soaked at the end of a 80 degree day because humidity is less than 10% during the summer drought.
I guess the main difference I have seen is that I see a lot of desis in national parks and (less commonly) on day hikes. I rarely see them backpacking or kayaking. A statistical unit of 1. 😉
It’s interesting that you went through Butte, MT. I got my grad degree from Montana Tech, Butte. There are about six desis total in Butte, which is a town of about 35,000. There is one professor at Tech who’s a desi. While I was there, desi khana was the biggest thing we missed. You’re right there’s no Indian restaurant in Butte. The nearest desi dukan (store) was in Seattle or Salt Lake City. There’s a Chinese restaurant, though, which used to be run by a Tibetan who spoke Hindi.
Believe it or not, but there are enough desis in Helena, the capital of Montana, for for two cricket teams. We drove up there once to play a 25-over match. Thinking about those days sets me off writing…
Okay, that’s it, I can’t believe I’m going to do this, but I have to defend New Jersey. There are actually a lot of beautiful trails and hikes in New Jersey. I grew up in the boondocks of New England, but did not avidly mountain bike or go camping until I lived in New Jersey. The northwest portion of New Jersey and the Delaware Water gap are really beautiful.
Can it compete with the Northwest? No (although many mountain biking enthusiasts will tell you NJ, bizarrely enough, has some of the best mountain biking trails in the country). But you can’t use it as an excuse for not cultivating an interest in the outdoors- you just have to venture 20-30 minutes away from Edison/Iselin.
the northeast is beautiful, that i do not deny. my contention is that the mugginess gives tends to dampen peoples’ enthusiasm for nature away from beaches.
My Dad came here in 69 and almost instantly became obsessed with the canoe. He started canoeing lessons and conned me into taking them with him. Pretty soon the two of us were pretty good, and took trips to Lake Louise. As a result of this weird, sudden obsession of my Dad’s, I now canoe and kayak a lot, just took my first whitewater kayaking trip on the Riviere Rouge. I’m still the only desi paddling whenever I go. Have to say me and my Dad stuck out like sore thumbs.
as opposed to peddling desis, who are everywhere and anywhere. Thankyoucomeagain.
named after moine khan the first desi to open a convenience store in iowa, iam sure.
dum-dee-dum.
DQ, ….”…Have to say me and my Dad stuck out like sore thumbs…”
Please elaborate. In whose prespective? Did it diminish the joy of canoeing?
Neale, God no. We both became addicts.
Since I grew up in redneck central, I actually don’t think we stuck out that much – I mean beyond the obvious sticking out of being desi in the first place. Maybe we probably started a new stereotype of paddling desis. Those damn desis, paddling again.
DQ, I guessed so 🙂 I asked because i have had two different experiences … the first outside-of-work-pursuit i tried , i was the only desi among a hundred or so and it wasn’t bad but i never felt that I belonged. The other one was much much smaller group and was much more fulfilling. Taking this once step further – a mostly solo exercise like canoeing or biking or skiing could be exhilirating. Esp if head for chai and Haldiram after 🙂
Mmm. The chai and haldiram idea sounds good, packed in ziploc, tightly capped thermos, in the crisp chill fall, taking a break on a rock in the middle of Georgian Bay. Yeah. The desipaddle.
My memories of me and my father (he passed away a few years ago) paddling are precious because he was, in some ways, a really conservative Indian man, yet took me out canoeing. We had a lot of problems as soon as I became a teenager. I guess it reminds me of the part of him that was untouched by convention.
We had a lot of problems as soon as I became a teenager.
Thats what my wife says about my baby daughter – she will only be daddy’s girl for so long, you know 🙂
I lived in Boise for six months in 2001. There is indeed some desi population – IT engineers working primarily for HP and students of Boise State. Beautiful Uni campus.
Did not have any bad experience and visited many spots along Snake River – still fresh in memories.
Risible – just don’t take anything she says or does personally when she’s older. Like my boss says, his seventeen year old daughter ‘looks at him like something she needs to scrape off her boots’. He’s trying not to take it personally.
Disclaimer: I don’t have kids. Therefore, no experience raising kids.
BUT…is it automatic default that one’s offspring have to end up as obnoxious as the typical American brat? I do think children can be taught to be civil, courteous, and respectful. When I was a teen, sure I would get really pissed off with my parents…in my heart I probably hated them at times. But in terms of behavior, how I talked to them, looked at them, etc. I never crossed a certain line. Always maintained a basic respect. They wouldn’t have had it any other way. I know a lot of other 2nd genners who never screamed or yelled at their parents, and similarly maintained a respectful tone regardless of the situation. My sister did the same thing, despite disagreeing with my mom on everything during her teenage years. I don’t think we need to buy in to this whole ‘teens will be teens’ phenomenon we have in this country.
brown?
Like my boss says, his seventeen year old daughter ‘looks at him like something she needs to scrape off her boots’. He’s trying not to take it personally.
Ouch! My little cuddle bunny? never!
Thanks for the advice DQ. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts 🙂
Amitabh, yeah, probably not inevitable. I know non-desis too who were respectful and thoughtful as teenagers. I have to say, though, that I know of several people who behaved respectfully to their parents, never raged against them, who secretly did drugs, dated the wrong guys etc. With desis, there’s bound to be some cultural friction unless the children are completely robotic (or the parents are extremely liberal). Some kids deal with it by essentially shutting out their parents on a deeper level. Personally I’d rather have a kid who fought with me, screamed at me, and shared their thoughts and feelings with me, than one who was quiet, respectful and whom I knew nothing about.
Wow I thought I was the only one who remembered him…although as I remember he was a total wuss (thereby cruelly entrenching the stereotype of South Asian men as effeminate) so I dunno how much help he’d be.
I’ve got Hakuna Matata runnin’ through my head now. I thought Mowgli would have come before Mustafa, but maybe the ‘Muh’ sound makes it sound like Mohammed.
hey, I’m the one desi that lives in wyoming. I actually grew up in Sheridan, WY and even went to U. of Wyoming…but don’t go calling AAHOA just yet…my family owns motels out there. About 20 indian families in wyoming…are either doctors or own motels…go figure.
Shikari ShaMbhu ..of Tinkle fame
Wow I thought I was the only one who remembered him….although as I remember he was a total wuss (thereby cruelly entrenching the stereotype of South Asian men as effeminate) so I dunno how much help he’d be. Tinkle rules! I think it is just a gentle satire on hunters. After all, since when has Man plus Rifle versus Tiger been a true sport? Any more than Men plus sword versus Bull.
Amitabh: During the British Raj, Gujarat as well as most of India was scattered into so-called princely states. Kathiawad is the name of Northwest region of modern day Gujarat. It was also known as “Saurastra” in more modern days. In or around 1951, after the Independence, “Maha Gujarat” was carved out and Bombay (Mumbai) went to Maharashstra. Have I confused you enough? You are right. Kathiawadis are traditionally tall, well built, relatively fair skinned and takes pride in there moustaches. The literary famous bard “Jhaverchand Meghani” was Kathiawadi. They were good warriors. The accent of Gujarati language varies every 100 miles throughout the state. The gujarati spoken by “Patels” is very distinct too. According to some, the only people who speaks “pure” Gujarati are “Brahmins/Naagars”, like yours truly. I do not want to start a side debate here regarding Gujarati language. Chick Pea: Most surti pronounce S as H. Hence “Paisa” becomes “Paiha”. Abhi: Your Mom calls it “Thepla” because she was born in Uganda and grew up with Desis in East Africa, who were mostly originally from Kathiawad. I am still working to teach her the correct pronounciation. Now let’s get back to Nature and hiking, trekking and desis and all the good stuff.
Apparently there are actually about 6 or 7 desi families in Idaho Falls alone and a good chunk more in the state of Idaho. I guess the draw is engineering since there are some nuclear power plants out there.
So true!
Yo Dad & Amitabh,
There are a lot of Gujaratis originating from the Kathiawad region here in the UK, either via East Africa or, less frequently but still quite often (especially in the case of older-generation medical doctors) directly from India. The majority are Patels, Vaniyas/Banyas (Shahs etc) and Lohanas; not so many Rajputs, Brahmins, or Naagars, although you occasionally bump into some to a much lesser extent.
This correlates with what I was saying on the other now-closed thread about how Indians in the UK, including the large Gujarati population, are from highly distinct regional and “community”-related backgrounds, hence their frequent physical appearance as per Yo Dad’s summary.
Yo Dad Uncle,
I hear that the “Mehr” (spelling ?) community of Kathiawadis also fit the “warrior” description you mentioned, although there aren’t many of them here in Britain. However, I saw a major televised concert of Kathiawadi folk music on the Sony channel here last year (it was a professional group, the lead singer is apparently very famous although I can’t remember his name, I think they were on an international tour including possibly the US) where both the attire and the music included multiple aspects of Kathiawadi culture, including both Mehrs and Rajputs (some “sword-dancing” dandiya raas too). Some of it was very similar indeed to Rajasthani folk music. Stirring stuff.
According to my dad only people from Mumbai speak ‘proper’ gujarati as it’s an amalgamation of various gujarati types and he says everyone else has hick-ish accents. My guess is that all guaratis think that the place where they are from is proper lingo and everyone else is a bit odd.
I am conscious of this because I can’t do the nasal sound with ‘n’ as in ‘pani’ properly, which is a frequent source of amusement for my relatives.
Also my mom’s family is Kutchi and they speak a different language or something I can’t understand them much at all.
Kutchi is sort of halfway between Gujarati and Sindhi. In fact most linguists consider it closer to Sindhi.
Jai: You’re right, from talking to my cousin’s husband, it appears that the folkways of Kathiawad are distinct, and do have similarities to Rajasthani culture. For that matter, those districts of Madhya Pradesh that constitute ‘Malwa’ (not to be confused with Malwa region in Punjab) are also strongly influenced by Rajasthani culture. Makes sense since Malwa is adjacent to Rajasthan. India is full of these traditional cultural-linguistic mini-regions which have no existence on modern maps, but are still alive in the hearts of the people there. Gradually I do think the distinctiveness of these places will erode through modern mass media and education.
Yo dad wrote:
It was also known as “Saurastra” in more modern days.
Interestingly enough, there is a longstanding community in the Tamil country known as Saurastrans who emigrated from Gujurat. In the (I believe) 17th century, a Tamil Queen gave them Brahmin-like status. During the Dravidian movement, due to economic and political pressures, many TamBrams left the countryside, so many of the temples are being run by Saurastrians, originally from Gujurat.
And I believe the home language of the Saurasatrans in Tamil Nadu is a form of Tamil-influenced medieval Gujarati (although they are fluent in Tamil as well).
Oh, I beg to differ on we do the outdoors thing.
You’ll have to scroll through to see the pics but here’s here’s a few shots from our recent trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
June Archive and July Archive
Come to think of it,my blog is brimming with pics of outdoor activity including pics of field research in Puerto Rico.
When I lived in Boston, I also got involved with an Desi group that did TONS of outdoor stuff. It’s called Outdoorsyconquistadors. If you live in the Boston area, it’s a great way to meet other Desis who do the outdoor thing.
Come to think of it, if any of you want to get together for hikes or camping trips in the Boulder to Denver area, contact me.
Oops… I forgot I went to Moab in May. Here’s pics from that trip.