Tuesday, June 28, 2005
The Hyphenated Indian
When I tell people that my current interest is Films on the Indian Diaspora, ofcourse not many people understand my fascination for a genre that is so steeped in culture and identity.
By analyzing these films, I try to understand my own suburban Indian identity. When you are in a culture, you hardly pay attention to it, it engulfs you every day but it is no different from the rest of the community.
Now look at the NRI, there is a beauty their struggle to hold onto a "culture", to hold on to "Indianness", to identify themselves as belonging to two worlds and always being the hyphenated Indian.Yes, in the process there is confusion and immense sadness as all diasporic literature and film reveal. But there is an undoubted consciousness of being some where, some part Indian.
Like I said, before my Ph.D is a respect for higher scholarship and a chance to understand "What it means to be Indian in today's world?"
By analyzing these films, I try to understand my own suburban Indian identity. When you are in a culture, you hardly pay attention to it, it engulfs you every day but it is no different from the rest of the community.
Now look at the NRI, there is a beauty their struggle to hold onto a "culture", to hold on to "Indianness", to identify themselves as belonging to two worlds and always being the hyphenated Indian.Yes, in the process there is confusion and immense sadness as all diasporic literature and film reveal. But there is an undoubted consciousness of being some where, some part Indian.
Like I said, before my Ph.D is a respect for higher scholarship and a chance to understand "What it means to be Indian in today's world?"
Comments
I came very late to this debate about the hyphenated desi diaspora. I was directed to this debate by the editor of desijournal.com. My own interests at the moment lie in studying (a) how each the expatriate Indian writer-- has come to terms with his/her diasporic experience and (b) what kind of relationship he/she has with India. In fact during Sep 22-23, 2005 we organised a Naional Seminar on this and in the aftermath we are putting together a book whose aim is to (a) reach out to writers, small or big, in the West as well as East, Africa, Caribbean, Australia with a questionnaire that lists issues central to diasporic experience and compile their responses in one section (b) include perspectives from scholars in the field from across the globe in another section. If you are interested in this project please contact me at the email id given here.
Vinoda
Professor of English
Kakatiya University
Warangal
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