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Mosaic -- A space for mixed kids.


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Apr. 26th, 2006 @ 01:29 am Life is Unfair -- 17 year old becomes bestselling author while I rot in this corner of the country
What were you when you were 17?

Well, I was just another gawky teenager, bunking classes, hanging out on the college steps, eating junk food and basically WASTING TIME.

No wonder I was jealous when I found out that a certain Miss Kaavya Viswanathan has been offered a $500,000 contract for her FIRST book... How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life (Interesting name....would certainly draw me to the book, considering that I am one of those who 'judges a book by its cover'). And what's more, her book is even going to be converted in to a film by Steven Spielberg! (If you're ready for more envy...she is also a Harvard student)

So when I read that she has been caught for plagiarism... I must confess that I was initially a bit glad. (Yeah sadistic, I know. But c'mon, all aspiring writers who wasted their teenage days would be glad to know that there is still hope...we are not being overtaken by 17 year old desis!)

But now I feel bad for her. The poor girl is just 17. And she's Indian. (Almost) all 17-year-old Indians have plagiarised at least once in their life...whether it is for a college assignment, writing for a magazine or just blogging. It's inherent. (Even top Indian music directors and filmmakers in the are shameless plagiarisers and they get away with it....so why can't 17-year old Kaavya?)

Besides, it's the duty of the editors and publishers to check for possible plagiarism. If they blindly accept the book and offer her 500,000$, then they are to blame as much as she is.

Whatever the case, it sure has got her some crazy amount of publicity. Only thing is I fear a backlash....all young Indian writers will now be looked upon with suspicion. Sigh.


Read Chapter One of her book here
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Apr. 19th, 2006 @ 11:16 pm Whatever happened to free speech?
Be careful what you say about Bush!  This guy got himself arrested simply for posting some anti-Bush comments on a chat site!


‘Kill Bush’ call lands Indian in US jail


By Chidanand Rajghatta/TNN

Washington: An Indian graduate student in the US who posted inflammatory messages on an internet bulletin board has been arrested and charged with threatening to kill President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, vice-president Dick Cheney and top Republican leaders. 

   Vikram Buddhi, a Purdue University graduate student, allegedly posted the detailed and threatening messages on a Yahoo finance board. 

   A concerned citizen contacted the Secret Service office in Dallas to report the offensive messages, leading to an investigation and the subsequent arrest, the local Post-Tribune newspaper of Gary, Indiana, reported on Tuesday. 

   Buddhi’s attorney John Martin contended that his client’s actions should be covered by the First Amendment (pertaining to free speech) since he would have never actually carried out his threats. He hoped Buddhi would be released from jail on Wednesday following his detention hearing, so he can return to studying. 

   “What was allegedly said certainly is derogatory and may be inflammatory,’’ Martin told the Post-Tribune. “But there’s no real serious threat more than it was chat on the web.’’ In the various posted messages, Buddhi urged the website’s readers to bomb the United States and to rape American and British women and mutilate them, according to court documents cited by the paper. Other messages called for the killing of all Republicans. 

Buddhi has been studying industrial engineering at Purdue University, having moved from India to West Lafayette, Indiana, ten years ago on a student visa.

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Mar. 22nd, 2006 @ 11:49 pm Twenty-Something
Hey here's something really interesting I found on the net. It isn't exactly to do with this blog but i think many ppl can relate to it...check it out!


BEING TWENTY-SOMETHING

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and
start realizing
that there are many things about yourself that you
didn't know and
may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder
where you will be
in a year or two, but then get scared because you
barely know where
you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and
that, maybe, those
friends that you thought you were so close to aren't
exactly the
greatest people you have ever met, and the people
you have lost touch
with are some of the most important ones. What you
don't recognize is
that they are realizing that too, and aren't really
cold, catty, mean
or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job... and it is not even close to
what you thought
you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a
job and realizing
that you are going to have to start at the bottom
and that scares
you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what
others are doing and
find yourself judging more than usual because
suddenly you realize
that you have certain boundaries in your life and
are constantly
adding things to your list of what is acceptable and
what isn't. One
minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your
life. You feel
alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is
the enemy and you
try and cling on to the past with dear life, but
soon realize that
the past is drifting further and further away, and
there is nothing
to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you
loved could do
such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why
you can't meet
anyone decent enough that you want to get to know
better. Or maybe
you love someone but love someone else too and
cannot figure out why
you're doing this because you know that you aren't a
bad person. One
night stands and random hook ups start to look
cheap. Getting wasted
and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.
You go through the
same emotions and questions over and over, and talk
with your friends
about the same topics because you cannot seem to
make a decision. You
worry about loans, money, the future and making a
life for
yourself... and while winning the race would be
great, right now
you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that every one reading
this relates to
it. We are in our best of times and our worst of
times, trying as
hard as we can to figure this whole thing out. Send
this to your
twenty-something friends... maybe it will help
someone feel like they
aren't alone in their state of confusion...

We call it the "Quarter-life Crisis."
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Mar. 16th, 2006 @ 02:13 am Movie Recco

'You think you know who you are. You have no idea.'  goes the tagline for the awesome Oscar winning film, Crash.

For two days in Los Angeles, a racially and economically diverse group of people pursue lives that collide with one another in unexpected ways. These interactions are interestin gand sometimes unsettling. The film explores and challenges your ability to judge books by their covers.

I loved the movie. For those of you who haven't seen it as yet, please do watch it!!

Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other.

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Mar. 11th, 2006 @ 12:39 am You want incense sticks? What religion are you?
Today a kid on the street tried selling me incense sticks. 

(Incense sticks are popularly used in India for religious and sometimes just aesthetic purposes)

I rejected, simply because I don't like or use incense sticks. As soon as I said no I don't want it, he replied, "Oh you must be a Christian".

It took me a few seconds to figure out what he meant and then I realised that Christians in India don't use incense sticks very much...at least not as much as Hindus. And that's why he simply assumed that I must be a Christian for not wanting incense sticks.
While this would have been an innocent assumption made by the kid, it infact offended me a bit. Not because he got the religion wrong. It's just that what the  hell does my religion have to do with wanting or not wanting to buy incense sticks? Do I have to be a Hindu to want incense sticks? 
This kid was about 12. He barely has an education. Yet, he differentiates between religions based on a very trivial thing.

While this post is actually very trivial, it just shows how aware and exposed young kids are to differences between religions. The problems arise when they become intolerant about these differences. I sincerely hope this kid grows up to accept & respect differences in religions rather than hate them.
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Mar. 7th, 2006 @ 12:29 am Famous colours
Famous mixed folks...

Ben Kingsley - His father is Indian and mother is British
Keanu Reeves (droool!) - Father half Hawaiin, half Chinese, Mother English...wow he's got 3 continents covered
Bollywood bigwigs Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan's kids are mixed children
Halle Berry - black & white (though considered more as a 'black' woman....apparently there used to a 'one drop' theory ages ago in America according to which, even if you had a drop of 'black' blood in you, you were considered 'black')
Sean Lennon (son of John Lennon) - British & Japanese
Cliff Richards - British-Indian (or Anglo-Indian as the breed is popularly known)
Norah Jones - father is Indian musician Ravi Shankar and mother is white
Cameroon Diaz - Father is Cuban, mother is German, Native American and English
Salma Hayek - Lebanese-Mexican

wow..a whole lot of mixed kids are hot!! :-)

Anymore you can think of?
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Mar. 3rd, 2006 @ 01:18 pm Does religion affect children?

Almost 12% of the total Indian population in America is multi-racial says this article. And one in every nine Indian American is biracial. Interesting.

Also check out these three pages of another interesting article on mixed marriages in India in which Vignaraj, a Hindu of Silver Spring, Maryland, feels that children bear the heaviest burden of mixed marriages. He says, "I believe your faith is your way of life. If your life partner shares the same faith, you share a common philosophy in which you can bring up your children. I have many friends that had mixed marriages which broke after ten or twelve years. Their children didn't know who or what they were. Besides material wealth and education, what else do we have to give children but religion."
On the other hand, "I never felt different from any other family," says Sarita. "People who say that children get affected by interreligious marriages are wrong! My upbringing has only strengthened my understanding and respect of religion." According to Rajesh, the concept of religion has become too rigid, placing barriers on people. He says, "We should judge people for their character, not their religion." 

Whom do you agree with? Are mixed children a confused lot, not knowing who or what they are, or are they open-minded and have a strong understanding and respect for all religions?

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Mar. 3rd, 2006 @ 12:16 pm What Are You?
Usually, it is quite simple being a mixed child.

Except when it comes to those few instances when you meet people who judge you based on your answer to that one dreaded question....

WHAT ARE YOU?

I often get asked this question. In fact, I feel that many people, specially in India, ask this question simply because they cannot interact with someone without first knowing how to classify him/her. And as I prepare to explain my background in its entirety, I very well know that the person asking me this question is expecting a standard one-word answer like 'Punjabi' or 'Maharashtrian'. More often than not, the person is absolutely sure that I am either a Punjabi (based on my surname) or a Maharashtrian (based on the city I live in). And as I elaborately explain the beautiful mix of Indian cultures that constitute me I often notice a whiff of either disappointment or awe on the face of the person, because my answer is inconsistent with his/her 'guess'. I am then either an outcast or exotic (based on my mixed background). I prefer to be neither (though, given a choice, I'd rather be exotic than an outcast :-))
Yes, it is exasperating when people are more interested in knowing your religious or ethnic background BEFORE finding out what kind of person you are. I just pity them for being so narrow-minded. I love being a mixed child.


In India, besides a number of religions, we have a whole lot of castes (sub-divisions of religions) as well. My parents, though of the same religion, are of different castes. I am a mixture of North Indian (Uttar Pradesh to be more specific) and Sindhi blood, born and brought in the western Indian state of Maharashtra (mostly). What about you?

Share your personal experiences with me...
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Mar. 3rd, 2006 @ 01:53 am Welcome to Mosaic
Are you..
1. Indian
2. British
3. European
4. Chinese
5. American
6. Punjabi
7. Gujarati
8. Bengali
9. Maharashtrian
10. Sindhi
11. Madvadi
12. Christian
13. Tamilian
14. Sikh
15. Muslim
16. Persian
17. None of the above

Do you wish there was an option that said 'Some of the Above'? Are you 'Half and Half' or 'A little bit of this, some of that and a bit of that as well'?

Welcome to Mosaic.
If your parents have had an inter-caste, inter-faith or inter-race marriage here is a blog for you to discuss issues, share personal anecdotes and joke about matters relating to mixed children, for whom there is no one-word answer to the question, 'What are you?'




P.S: while the above list is limited to the common religions and castes that mixed children are made up of, anyone with any kind of mixed background.. japanese, african, dutch, jamaican, mexican....anyone at all, is more than welcome to be part of this blog! :-)
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