Nazar-a blog by UT Austin students

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I recently received an email from a blog/online magazine called Nazar. They asked if we could link to them in our blogroll (bottom of the comments column). We get requests like this all the time. We have a very simple policy (stated in our FAQ): we only link to blogs that one of us actually reads or follows, even occasionally. However, we always check out each link we receive. Nazar was a pleasant surprise, not only because it has a beautiful design, but because it is really cool to see another (much younger) group of dedicated writers/bloggers who saw a need and took the opportunity to fill a gap:

Nazar – A South Asian Perspective , is a brand new online magazine that caters to the South Asian population at The University of Texas at Austin. One of our primary goals is to bring Nazar out as a print publication at UT and throughout Austin.

Like most good ideas, Nazar was born from the need to fill a gap. The gap was a lack of a publication that catered to the 5,000 South Asians on campus, a community that makes up 10% of the UT population. We wanted to create a magazine that would not only be a representative voice of this community, but would also inform South Asians in detail of the events happening back at home.

This doesn’t just mean a compilation of facts of the major events – anyone, South Asian or otherwise, can get those – but reviews and opinions of them, especially from the perspective of a South Asian living overseas. Just as important will be the coverage of issues and events in the US that affect South Asians living here, be it immigration and foreign policy, the cultural divide, or an imminent performance by a South Asian artist in Austin.

Nazar is the first of its kind, and promises to be an excellent platform for writers, designers, and sales people, amongst others. The road to publishing won’t be easy, but it will be an exciting ride, and we’re thrilled to be part of UT history in the making. [Link]

You got to support dedicated young bloggers. Where is my UMich at? If you know of any similar South Asian American group blogs based out of a university community then please send a tip my way.

18 thoughts on “Nazar-a blog by UT Austin students”

  6. Awesome website! Nazar is something to keep reading! Def following it from now on

  7. I am glad that Sepia Mutiny is helping publications like Nazar come up…it looks like a lot of time and hard work has been put into it…Hook’em!

  8. I must say I’m impressed by this website. The quality of their articles is pretty astounding! Will definitely read it from now

  9. No harm I think…….publication on UT will be a leap and history creation on campus.

  10. No harm I think…..publication by the Asians at the UT campus will be a big leap and a history creation but without loosing identity which is very important.

  12. The gap was a lack of a publication that catered to the 5,000 South Asians on campus, a community that makes up 10% of the UT population.

    With 10% of the population being desi, and with the total being over 5000 you would think that at least one would make the football team?

  14. I don’t think it’s high at all. The number of South Asians on campus is huge. 5,000 actually sounds like a really good estimate (I went there for 8 years, so I had some time to look around.)

  15. Well, as Indians, we’re going to tend to notice each other a little more than others. So perhaps we might overestimate our presence a bit.

    Here’s some UT Austin student organizations:

    http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/asianamericanrt/MemberList.html List of Asian student organizations

    http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sald/studentorgs/vieworgs.php?org=4275 Organization called Asian round table

    http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/students/organizations/apsa/apsaoff.html Asian Pharmacy Association

    http://www.utabsa.org/index.php?view=directors Asian business students association

    http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~ahpo/officers.html Asian pre-meds

  16. Texas….Fight!

    Just like in the Rose Bowl, Texas sticks it to Meechigan. Hook ’em Horns!

  17. http://www.utexas.edu/studentgov/elections.php Well, here’s a list of the kids in student government. Out of 40 students, 6 Asians total. At 15% of both the undergrad student body and student reps, Asians appear evenly represented in student government. Of the 6 Asians, 5 are East Asian and 1 is desi. So makes desis maybe more like 2-3% of the undergrad student body if this is any indication. Supposedly there are around 650 grad students from India, so maybe like 1.5-2K total desi students if you include them. The reason I bring this up is that, in general, it’s vital to understand the size of your market. So NAZAR should keep in mind that when assessing its product’s appeal.

    I checked out NAZAR and it seems that if we want, we can contribute too. Any inspiring writer should definitely check it out. It seems pretty cool.