Really enjoyed your show Smitha.

I grew up in the North but my parents are from the south. So, I could never fit in properly anywhere. And now I live and work here in the UK, I am not sure where I belong to ( I connect to a language and a culture but not to any land, if you know what I mean ).

I have American cousins, I see second generation 'Indian' indians here and people who have multiple identities like me. This compartmentalisation on and off is real - difficult but is there.

I sometimes dont know if i want any identity at all, but then sometimes that is the only way to define yourself, eh....

Good show.
Keep it up.
And lets have more.

I did not realise that this was a connecting with two Indian parents issue and also one that was faced by 2nd generation desi's.
Makes more sense now.
This wasn't very clear to me in the show, maybe I just misunderstood - this won't be the first time - ;-)

Hi Ben~
Thanks for your insights. I hear what you're saying, but I think these dynamics change dramatically when you start to look at the second generation. Chandini's "issue" isn't with "Indianness" itself, it's about connecting with her peers with two Indian parents. Maybe I neglected to specify this in the show, but the "Indian-Indian" peers that she refers to are students who were born and raised in the US. The thing is, most kids who grew up in the US who have two Indian parents have insecurities/angst about being Indian that Chandini doesn't. What you're saying, about "knowledge" doesn't quite work in this scenario because I would bet that it would be pretty tough to assess who, among Chandini and her "Indian-Indian" peers, has "more knowledge" about Indiannness, Americanness or anything else!

Thanks for listening, and for taking time to comment. I look forward to tuning in to your show as well!

:)
Smitha