Hatty Lee

My Kitsch Is Their Cool

From masala to Bollywood films, Indian culture has made its mark on American life. But what really crosses over? Radio host Sandip Roy tries to answer this question in his new essay at ColorLines.com. A sneak peek:

“Our Krishnas and curries are now public property to be sampled, remixed, chewed up and spat out as millions of cookie-cutter lunch boxes. (Probably Made in China.)

It almost makes me nostalgic for the old days when people came up to me and said, “You are from Calcutta? My doctor is Indian. Dr. Harry Patel. I think he’s from that other big city—Bombay?” And they would pause expectantly, as if waiting for me to recognize Dr. Patel. Now, they want to know what restaurant I would recommend in the Bay Area for “authentic Indian food, you know, a hole-in-the-wall place where Indians go, not your white-people-Maharaja-Thali stuff.”

And I am wondering, do I want to tell you?”

Posted at 4:22 PM, Jun 30, 2009 in ColorLines Features | Permalink | View Comments