Come the Fourth of July, I often wonder what my life would be like if I was British. My father worked in the UK before he came to the US for graduate school, his only brother still lives in Zone 2, London. As a result, I have both literal and metaphorical cousins across the pond.
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“Chaz Singh” as St. George |
To their credit, Brits are the only westerners who assume that I must be one of them rather than a foreigner. When I’m travelling abroad (outside of India or the UK), British travellers will go out of their way to say hi, while Americans look right through me. In the London, I’ve had people make eye contact with me when they rolled their eyes in disapproval at the noisy tourists who just entered the tube. “Boy, aren’t those foreigners noisy” they telegraph silently to me, while I try to keep a straight face and signal back proper stiff-upper-lip sympathy.
In that vein, I bring you “Chaz Singh” [I suppose that is his real name] who I discovered via DNSI.
Chaz Singh is one of the recipients of the BBC Breeze bursaries that has enabled him to … a collection of images that portray his identity as both Sikh and British. The verses also reflect the image as a verbal translation.[Link]
The St. George photo is my favorite of the lot. The verse … well, it’s in rhyme, and I don’t find it quite as interesting as the photos. More examples of his words and pictures below the fold, including his paired compositions concerning being both “Chav and Goth”.
Both the poems and the photos are quite literal. Here is the image “Made in Britain” and the words accompany it:
Made in Britain
How long before
we can all walk on the same path
we feel their wrath
they see what we’re about
they kick us all out
they realise our passion
they realise it’s not a fashion
they start to integrate
they start to communicate
they realise the bond
they realise we’ve been conned
I lose my soul
I reach my goal
I’m not seen as a freak
They realise I’m not weak. [Link]
Similarly, here is are the words and images that accompany the theme “Goth and Chav”
Goth & Chav
How long before
they see me as a Sikh
they realise I’m not unique
they treat me like a human
someone cries “Is this true man”
they see that inside we’re tougher
we don’t have to suffer
they realise?
they start to sympathise
they realise the power to touch
they realise it means so much
my love turns to hate
you become my mate
we get noticed
we stop getting dissed
I’ve got nothing to fear
They get me out of here. [Link]
And of course, my very favorite photo of Chaz Singh from RateMyTurban.com [Yes, I’m on there, and yes, he’s got a higher ranking than I do]. He’s completely chavved out here, what with all the Burberry and bling:
