"Progressive Indian-American Woman" - Left a comment on the blog. I thought it was a very thought provoking comment, for somebody like me studying the diaspora.

You say - The second generation can now have a connection to what is happening back home.

Three observations about that -

1. the second generation do not consider their parents' home country necessarily as "back home". I think to them it is just the latest fad to which they have a bit more of an "in" than their non-ethnic (or differently ethnic) peers.

2. A level of connection to the parent's home country is possible because the home country too is becoming more like America. Just take Bollywood as an example - before Aishwarya I don't think there were any actresses who were fluent enough in the lingo and the ethos of the global culture. Sure, there were the likes of Shabana who were articulate in English, but they had a certain authentic Indian-ness to them that the likes of Aishwarya lack - Aishwarya is just an Indian-by-costume.

3. As the parent of second-gen teens, I can tell you that the much-vaunted connection to the home country is an illusion. Those of their desi peers who are steeped in desi culture are choosing the Aishwarya brand of it. Nothing wrong with that, except that along the way what is lost is a connection to the concept of India (Bollywood is not India), an understanding of the history and even the geography.

What is worse, I think, is that this so-called connection is a result of self-selected self-exotification. It is at the expense of the ability to fully participate in the here and now - they are unable to hold their own in a mainstream American milieu and over time the self-segregation becomes a permanent part of who they are. One young woman I know comes home each weekend from State U - why, I feel like asking, has she not made friends at University? why is she not finding activities at college that spark her interest and consume her energy?!

Just my 2c.


Thanks a ton Progressive Indian-American Woman!!