Even if it involves fudging numbers.
If there were a global metric of politeness in terms of the number of sorries and thank you’s uttered per capita per year for each nation, desi figures would run into numbers so high that we’d surely have to invent a new kind of ‘illion’ name.
Desi politeness is a universal phenomenon, accentuated when the desi is away from homeland. Homeland politeness may be limited to having a quarrel over wanting to foot the bill, non-resident desi politeness surfaces in almost all real life public facing situations (qualifier used due to contrary evidence found in places like the comments section of this blog).
Workplace politeness includes graciously accepting weekend work. Restaurant politeness mandates agreeing to all suggestions made by the pretty waitresses.Queue politeness sometimes extends to not confronting those who cut it. Bar politeness means ordering the same drink as your friend so the bartender doesn’t have to struggle with understanding your pronunciation of the cocktail you really want (also, there may be image issues due to the color or name of the concerned cocktail).
Politeness is also a tool for dealing with uncomfortable situations. The best use of it can be witnessed in popular bachelor party venues where service providers are unwittingly denied by having genuine conversations about coding practices at work or general advice on career and academics.
If you are a non-desi, you’ll find riling up or picking a fight with a desi a fairly significant challenge. Even if you do manage to offend a desi, you’ll get some form of disguised aggression in the form of a few colorful hindi words.
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Originally uploaded by justinhenry
From the toothpaste they buy to the old television set they hold on to for years on end, every possession has a special significance in a desi’s life. Once an item enters a desi household, only its complete consumption or a worthy exchange offer can dislodge it.
Clinging on to stuff they own acquires ritualistic proportions often rendering desi homes as a curious museum of mostly obsolete or useless artifacts. Unlike museums though, which focus on the act of collecting, desi homes focus exclusively on the act of not letting go. For instance, medicines for some strange reason are treasured possessions,with bottle of vicks , iodex or amrutanjan enduring life spans of over a decade; well past their respective expiry dates.
From the moment the smallest of knick-knack is purchased from the most obscure of little outlets, the desi will feel not just a sense of ownership toward it, but also a sense of pride and an inexplicable sentimental attachment to it. And, if they got it on a deal, then it pretty much becomes a part of their legacy for future generations. This is not just limited to the purchases, it also elegantly extends itself to stuff they don’t technically own or purchase.
Desis are also expert reusers and champion refurbishers of stuff that is broken. And while America, with all its wastefulness and throw away culture proves to be a formidable obstacle in a desi’s reuse endeavours, there is always room for those broken shoes on trips back home.
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Palo Alto, CA: In a truly original and maverick gimmick, the still popular amateur-anthro blog Stuff Desis Like (SDL) refused to mark its first anniversary with any sort of noticeable activity.
On account of the blog’s anniversary, a social get together or even a formal Hindu ceremony of some sort was largely expected.
Speculation is rife that a lack of originality, rather than marketing/PR creativity is the main motivation behind this latest stunt. Scientists actually believe that this non-celebration might very well be the effects of caffeine in the chai that desis love to drink at all times.
However, if certain secret sources are to be believed, this is indeed a move of sheer genius,worth its weight in gold. The busy brown bloggers have been unavailable for comments on the matter, but this may be due to a host of reasons including the ongoing tax season, india’s tour of new zealand, the falling India rupee or perhaps the unmissable opportunities thrown out by this great recession we find ourselves in.
Desis all over the world are awaiting the outcome of this non-celebration eagerly. Some enthusiatic desis we spoke to, expect a guest post by none other than SRK ; who has purportedly opposed to the pictures used in one of the entries. Others however, have checked their levels of optimism after this agonizingly extended delay in marking the anniversary event in any way.
The never growing , eighty-nine member strong Facebook fan community of the blog seems to have truly caught-on with the spirit of this non-celebration by refusing to take part in discussions or inviting others to be a part of the community, preferring instead to share posts from the blog as wall posts. Other social networks, even though desi favorites, remain dormant with blatant inactivity.
Previous gimmicks from these bloggers have included something similar.
Reuters
PS: Thank you to all our readers !
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Desis love their temples and build them wherever they go. Temples come in several sizes and shapes in several countries outside India.
Goddess Lakshmi can be seen showering not just rupees but currencies from around the world in their respective local temples. Almost all of the United States have at least one hindu temple, with big/dense states having tens of them.
Temples are the places of gathering for Desis, movie theaters and grocery stores being a close-second. Temple notice boards can have a dazzling variety of flyers ranging from ‘Camry for sale’ to furniture to music classes to India tickets to SP Balasubramanyam’s benefit show to a local desi DJ party. An occasional resume looking for a job should not come as a terrible surprise.
Temples, by rule, are part of visiting parents’ itinerary. This sometimes includes driving hundreds of miles to visit a major temple like the Pittsburgh Venkateswara temple which is often given the same iconic status as Tirupathi or Srirangam.
Hindu Temple Parking Space
Originally uploaded by kaysov
Visiting folks and FOBs are shown and asked to wonder at air-conditioning system, fire sprinklers and other building code compliances inside the temples. Temples in the United States come with additional desi compliances like parking spaces for Car Pooja.
An occasional white in a Hindu temple gets good stares. White in Indian clothes? Extra stares.
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