Oh my god! This is SO exciting as an ABD Houstonian!
I'll totally be listening for you guys :D

In terms of possible topics, the rise of more desi politicians other than Bobby Jindal. There are many desi politicians in the Houston area and in Texas, and you could talk about their significance in the community and beyond.

Thanks Radhika. That is a good topic suggestion -- and it's definitely one of Abhi's strong suits.

BTW, are there specific politicians in the Houston/Texas area you can think of?

rrr

Neeta Sane and Councilman MJ Khan. Not very high profile but both won local elections. Neeta won from a fairly non-brown district (Sugarland was not included).

TATA IS GOING TO BUY JAGUAR AND LAND ROVER AND RANGE ROVER

dayummnnn.

say hello to your new "tata's "

I just had a chat with one of the show’s organizers, and topics that came up were things like: the ABD/DBD identity question, the question of the meaning or value of “South Asia” (yes, that old chestnut again), globalization (especially the changing nature of the diaspora), the rise of Bobby Jindal, and the elections in Gujarat.

The elections in Gujarat is an alarming example of the perils of democracy and what democratic societies sometimes tolerate and even abet.

I am sure Abhi and Amardeep will do a great job.

Tamil Tiger Returns: Why dont you ever talk about the indignities suffering by Indian laborers in Dubai. You obviously dont care for any Indian diasporic community except for the one in Malaysia. Oh wait, you dont care about them, this issue doesnt interest you.

ACFD # 7:

See the bright side of Gujarat elections, if there is any.

Tamil Tiger Returns:

It's getting harder to feel sympathy for Malaysia after your constant threat-spamming of this blog. I keep having to remind myself that one asshole's immature, inappropriate, misguided antics shouldn't take away from the compassion which all the legitimate victims in Malaysia deserve.

But you know what? I'm human. And that means I'm imperfect. And that means that thanks to you, every time I think of Malaysia these days, instead of hoping for justice or wondering how I may help, I think of how annoying you are...and whatever desire I have to pay attention to your beloved issue evaporates. Well done! You're screwing over your cause. Do you not understand that yet?

Amerdeep- VERY COOL!!!!!!!!! I think you might want to look at bi-culturalism- which is definitely a border theory/identity issue. This is something we (as in artists/writers/filmmakers Chicano/non) in San Diego are dealing with on a regular basis. Just for fun, before you go on, see if you can find the documentary Sikhs in the Family. This is really exciting- we've been dialoging about this in the Middle Eastern/Latino community for awhile and I would really like to see the Desi community join us on this. Artwallah (artwallah.org) in LA seems to be going in this direction and we (me and M) are working on a Middle Eastern-Latino-South Asian axis through the new Voz Alta (vozalta.org)v.2 and my own project Arabs Anonymous/No Hay Moros. If you are interested in going in this direction more, contact me off list and I can put you in contact with La Pocha/PochArte/Lou Chalibre/Aztec Gold people in San Anto. We're all interconnected here and I think the more plurality that joins the dialog of what and who is American/in diaspora/straddling continents and cultures- is really what is going to save US/the US in the 21st century. Have a fantastic show! Orale!

I can't wait! wish it was TONIGHT!! But will tune in tomorrow.... how about the Amardeep Book Club, better than Oprah! Oprah makes people read, but Amardeep makes them think! and write!

We do love minkey stories, whether bajaj scooter related, murder by minkey, Hanuman, macacaworld, chasing down little bandars with langurs, contraception for minkeys, and the excellent picture below the masthead.....

i hope you won't explain how y'all divvy up the many faces of SM. Some things are better left veiled in mystery.

Someone on one of your recent topics mentioned how they felt they were viewed by their "amreeken" peers through a 9/11 lens and how it has made them feel ill at ease here in the US. At the same time, they felt out of place in india. (i'm too lazy to go and find the post). My thought was (and it may have been beat into the ground already) How do people in houston perceive their world pre and post 9/11. Has it affected their feelings about the US? Does it spur them to do more for themselves politically or professionally here in the US or has it insulated them more or has had no affect at all?

I wonder if the answer to those questions are different for Desi's in different parts of the US.

Sorry about #13.

This line should read "has it isolated them" rather than has it "isolated them more.."

As Bryant Gumbel would say, "My Bad".

Amardeep and Abhi - I've been wondering more and more, after a recent post & comments, why Houston is not as much on the desi diasporic map than other metro areas. I'm not the only desi-Houstonian to get excited whenevert Abhi posts on local stuff (see comment #1 by Radhkika on this thread) - and yet, there's more posted on other metro areas in the US than Houston (even though Abhi's now a Houstonian!)

It's all tied up in our full identities as individuals and communities emerging. Perhaps it's second nature if you're a New Yorker, or from the Bay Area - yet it's still a work in progress close to the Texas Gulf Coast. And imagine how much more of a challenge it is, then, if you're not from a major metro area, or grew up as the desi in your area.

Looking forward to hearing your voice on the air this evening!

I think Austin is much more loved on SM than H-town.

I wouldnt blame them though, H is just not lovable enough :)

Nothin' but love for H-Town. Check the soundtrack. Maybe not quite right for tonight's show, but classic nonetheless...

For the record, you can also tune in to Border Crossings on KPFT at 90.1 on your FM dial in teh Houston areas.

wow! this is really exciting! i'll be tuning in from good ol' denton, tx!

In response to Margin Fades - I agree with you about how H-town isn't nearly as noticed as a South Asian epicenter as other cities in the US.
Prasad: Austin's great, don't get me wrong, but I love Houston, too. :(

What is the H-town scene like?

Are there temples?

Is there an indian district?

How many Indian restaurants you guys got?

How is it for young single desis?

I loved the posts you did on Guha's book. I learned many things I didn't know.
Certainly a job well done!

hillside, which Indians are you talking about?

You know, now that I think of it, while I think of desis in TX I don't often think of them in Houston. I think of them either in Dallas, Austin, or the sticks (e.g. Midland), probably because of personal interaction. That WOULD be an interesting conversation, especially on the border.

This is exciting :)

Camille,

I think the South Asian issue is different from an ABD perspective than from a DBD perspective. If I was an ABD I would definitely feel strongly towards a South Asian identity as it may lead our issues critical mass. I strongly feel a lot of people back in India, Pakistan etc. will not be comfortable with a South Asian lable as the political interest are not yet aligned even though the actual populace may feel differently. I feel based on my limited knowledge even here in America, for every South Asian proponent there are ten people that are against the issue.

Is South Asian identity created because "South Asians" form a community based on certain cohesive unifying factors such as culture, religion, food, and political interests?

Or do people consider themselves South Asian because society puts them ino that box?

brown, that makes sense, I was just curious because it seems that that question, and the answers it engenders, hinge a lot on whether someone is ABD or DBD. I was just curious if the question was actually about Indians (i.e. DBDs).

Camille,

I didn't meant to speak for hillside, but this was my personal opinion on the issue, I still don't know how I feel about the issue personally as my maternal grandparents moved from Lahore prior to the partition. It will be interesting to see how it develops in an American context and in the subcontinental context over the next decade.

“...considering these secular narrative memories should not mean giving in to metaphysical forms of [Desi] essentialism, nor should it be the occasion for a form of analysis that is capable of seeing only continuities and stabilities but not discontinuities and breaks. My own idea of a world-regional imaginary and space attempts to circumscribe not ahistorical essences but grounded sociocultural processes and circuits well illustrated in their complexity by the development...It is then necessary to understand that those forms of narratives and identifications were, are, and will always already be the result of cultural hybridizations between multiple, heterogenous, and oftentimes conflicting agents further differentiated by ethnicity, class, and gender, not the expression of a single logic with homogeneous actors inscribed in a sacred and unchangeable cultural space.” (paraphrased from Latino thinker Jose Munoz).

I think it's this idea of "identity-in-difference" that makes the category South Asian/Desi so potentially productive, and when I personally identify with the term, it is this notion with which I am aligning myself. I think it doesn't erase the various disparities and differences between all the subcontinental people, including diasporas, while not ignoring certain shared socio-historical themes that connect us. Of course, I know not all people feel this way about it or think about the term the way I do, and material realities within South Asia may make it hard for people to even want to identify with a larger group, so I admit my bias and incomplete perspective as an Indian-American, which I'm sure stems partially from the experience of being a minority out here.

brown-

I totally agree. While the South Asian identity may have a great deal of utility for ABDs and others raised as minorities in America, it is nonetheless borderline offensive to expect that DBDs from Pakistan and India be lumped together under a common umbrella, when their foreign policy interests are often in direct conflict with each other.

Oh, allow me to fill in our newest mutineers regarding a debate we've repeated unnecessarily for years, where on one side, people who are happy to identify as "South Asian" are bewildered by the hostility of those across the aisle who

a) attack them for it
b) disagree with their desire to self-characterize as such
c) put forth false arguments about our desire to impose this umbrella term outside of relevant diasporas
d) don't realize that South Asians are often "Indian Americans" simultaneously
e) choose to go to a decidedly "South Asian American" blog and then complain that it's SAA.

Now who wants to answer Amardeep's question vs. get sidetracked? We already know that "South Asia, the label" is on the potential topic list, but beyond that, does anyone want to recommend a specific, recent post or comment thread which might be appropriate and interesting? :)

I don't understand the beef about South Asia at all, why can't you be an Indian American and a South Asian American as well? India is a part of South Asia the last time I checked and despite political differences there are a lot of cultural similarities between Pakistan and northern India,, one could even argue that north Indians have more in common culturally with Pakistanis than with the south Indians.
So identifying yourself as South Asian doesn't necessarily have to mean denying your Indian identity. Also, I don't see the folks at Sepia mutiny asking anyone of us to identify as South Asian or whatever. South Asian is how they seek to identify themselves why should any one else have a problem with that is something that's beyond me.

Abhishek & Amardeep: As I am taking off for India - which happens to be in so-called South Asia, good luck to you guys and go dazzle the Houstonians ! As they say down there, "Don't mess with Texas".

In response to JGandhi:
"What is the H-town scene like?

Are there temples?

Is there an indian district?

How many Indian restaurants you guys got?

How is it for young single desis?"

The Houston scene is actually not all that bad, from an SAA perspective (if I'm still allowed to use that label.) And yes, there are not only multiple temples, but there are mosques and churches catering to different sects of the desi community, a chinmaya mission...and hillcroft is where it's at for indians in houston. Lots and lots of Indian restaurants are not only in Hillcroft, but around Houston as well. I think it's actually great for young single desis, imo, simply because there's so many of them.

Don't forget to tune in and post comments during the broadcast. Maybe next time we'll take phone calls.

I have in common with brown the fact that I too have relatives who migrated from Pakistani Punjab (and Sindh) to India after Partition, and with hillside that my father was also in the IAF. But just as I see no contradiction between being 'South Asian American' and 'Indian American' or 'Pakistani American' or 'Bangladeshi/Nepali/Sri Lankan American', I also see no contradiction between being South Asian and being Indian or Pakistani or etc.

However, I didn't always feel that way, especially in my initial years as a DBD in the US back in the late 80s-early 90s. And so I know that it can sometimes be a long journey to realize the shared South Asian identity based on socio-cultural-linguistic commonalities. I am optimistic that as trade and travel restrictions between the South Asian countries continue to be relaxed, even more South Asians within South Asia itself will also see it, and so DBDs more recently arrived than myself won't have the same trouble I had. The cultural interaction that internet-enabled audio-video-text media convergence can set in motion is also not to be underestimated. Between the trade and the in-person travel, and the internet, people from South Asian countries are going to increasingly see that they have far more in common than their government and media structures in the past allowed them to see. It's going to be a fun journey, in which ordinary people will have a significant role. Check this out for an example of what I mean.

Shameless self-plug:

Harb will be spinning some of my tracks during the show. Check it while you listen to our resident macacas wax philosophic, nostalgic, and Vedic.

Bump (and plug!) Tune in an hour folks.

I'm live blogging while live on the radio. This has got me tripping :)

Abhi, what IS this? There is some kind of elaborate (not very) short story oration. Did I miss something? (I tuned in 10 min. late)

Haha, that story was straight gangsta. ;)

Oh, whoops, that was Harbeer. Sorry :)

"Master bloggers"? Hahahahaha

Amardeep and me are up next

abhi,

so you're sitting there on your laptop? Did you write your own intro? haha. and I can't believe he mispronounced your name.

jgandhi,

to follow up on what radhika said, yes, Houston actually has a fairly large South Asian community - from all parts of South Asia (India, Pakistan, etc). There are countless Indian restaurants, grocery stores, all over the metro area. Hillcroft has many clothing stores, jewelry stores, restaurants, etc. There are many Bollywood concerts here, and other Indian musical concerts in town. In short, there is A LOT goin on in the desi scene down here.

Um, I'm actually not on the phone -- it keeps hanging up!

I think my fave comment so far is that it helps to not have a "formal" job in order to moderate the Mutiny. :)

And we sure all love Amardeep's sexy voice. ;)

Correction:

Harbeer made an innocent mistake while on the air: my name is actually Sukhdeep Dikshit. I'm half Poonjabi/half Marathi. Please make a note of this.

So, you guys never said-- is SM Intern for real? Same SM Intern as before?

or rather, why is today's SM Intern so strict and regulatory compared to SM Intern during the rise of Sanjaya Malakar?

Maybe it was Sanjaya Malakar... hence "SM" Intern. Haha... I have to agree with Abhi and Radhika and the rest of the mutineers (i'm sure) .. love Amardeep's sexy voice.

I thought SM Intern was one of the monkeys.

To add on to the last statement (y'all need an edit button for comments):
That would be interesting if SM Intern flung poop at the trolls. :D

Actually, the SM Intern, being an Intern, is only authorized to "fart in the general direction" of trolls.

Throwing poop is reserved for us full time monkeys, I mean, bloggers!

This blog is on its way to becoming MSM. You guys should really allow advertising on here and make yourself some $$$. Fair & Lovely, Johnny Walker, Che Guevara Panties: would sell like crack-cakes here.

I think my fave comment so far is that it helps to not have a "formal" job in order to moderate the Mutiny. :)

I think Amardeep said it helps to be a bit of a loafer, in order to moderate. I wish I could loaf, but my supervisors are strongly opposed to that despite my going on record as being very pro-bread. :D

You're right though, it would help. Unfortunately, unlike our first year, I now have a very formal job. Fortunately, I'm female. ;) Don't hate, you know exactly what I mean. I will forever look at my mother (and yours) in amazement for her ability to work full time+ AND come home to make south indian food from scratch nightly AND keep the house spotless, since I sure as hell can only do one or at most, two of those things at any given time. The smidgen of her rock star DNA I inherited is going towards handling this four-ring circus while working.

I'm still not her, though. If I recall, she actually ate lunch, did religious stuff and started potty-training my sister at 1-year. I'm not that skilled with time management. Hell, I'm not that skilled with anything. Y'know, if it weren't 3am in California, I would be making a weepy phone call to Moms wherein I blubber thank yous and "you're so amazing"s. Instead, I am awake at an evil hour catching up on awesome podcasts (Harbeer? Our resident DJ? The other members of the A-team??) while I wait for painkillers to kick in. Hey, CIA if you're reading this-- screw waterboarding, give people sinus infections, that's way less work and just as effective, I'm thinking.

is SM Intern for real? Same SM Intern as before?

Yup, same interns as before. What you think we've unchained them by now? Please.

Harbeer, you have a great voice. In every sense. :) My favorite bit was at the end, when he reclaims his toothpick. Pure awesomeness.

Nivritti--you should hear me try to say Nivritti. Sorry Abhi, I'm pehndu like that. In our meeting before the show, nobody wanted to read the news item about the murdered Pakistani artist (Gulgee) because we weren't sure how to pronounce his name. Seems I slaughtered Sukhdeep Dikshit's name, too, alas. Maybe this whole "South Asian" identity is indeed a farce.

For those who couldn't listen last night, you can hear the whole program here. I've also posted an edited version (just the interview with Abhi and Amardeep) here.

Thank you to Amardeep for bearing with the technical difficulties and to Abhi for coming in. I'm still amazed that you guys had never heard each other's sexy voices before last night. Thanks also to the musicians who loaned us their music: Deep, Kamla Punjabi, and our very own DJ Drrrty Poonjabi. (There's a couple of sick unreleased tracks on Deep's myspace, "Rim Kamonde" and "Munda Hogaya Sharabi" that we couldn't get permission to rock last night, but maybe on next week's all-music show.)

I'm glad you liked it A N N A. Thanks to you and all the bloggers that make this site almost impossible to talk about (in 30 minutes), too.

For those looking for intern opportunities, check out Deep's site. Get college credit for gettin' crunk y'all.

Tune in next week and give us a call. We'd love to hear from you.

Just wanted to second Harbeer's thanks to Amardeep and Abhi for coming on the show and all y'all for the great discussion on the blog. Hope you enjoyed the show yesterday and it does feel nice to know that yesterday's show was the first time two of the bloggers actually talked over phone :-)

While I had not been as frequent a visitor as Harbeer to this blog before, I read a lot of the posts over the last few months before the show and was really struck by the diversity of opinions in the comments and the posts. Seems like people actually are interested in other points of view (how strange) and it sure is different from some of the extremely partisan comments seen on other blogs (ok mostly on the political blogs). Keep the discussion going.

-k

Amardeep: "Actually, the SM Intern, being an Intern, is only authorized to "fart in the general direction" of trolls.

Throwing poop is reserved for us full time monkeys, I mean, bloggers!"

Don't you mean macacas? ;)