Does your family try to smuggle Tupperware containers filled with daal chaval into Disneyland?

Do your parents have drawers full of ketchup packages from McDonalds?

Do your parents yell into the phone even when they are not calling India?

Does your family own a Toyota or a Honda?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are definitely, really, Indian! These are part of a quick quiz by light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek ‘anthropologist’ Sanjit Singh whose book ‘Are You Indian?’ is a humorous look at growing up Indian in America. Singh checks out the Indian-American phenomenon right from infancy where the little bachas are being already prepped for the spelling bee by their anxious and ambitious parents to SAT and College Admission, right on to the traumas of finding a mate.

“How many of us like to go to social events? Let’s be honest. A bunch of strangers standing around, some have their friends, some don’t; some are nice; some are not. Finding your place at a bunch of single networking events can be daunting, especially if you are on the introverted side.”
Guest Blog – Single Desi

“This next blog is dedicated to all you single 20-something’s, who aren’t sure about where life is headed and turning 30 seems to be a scary prospect. Sit back, relax and enjoy yourself, because I am about to share with you some thirty-something secrets that will surely give you plenty to look forward to: yy thirty you should own your own furniture, your own style sense, your own sense of taste – and one great romantic memory.” Guest Blog – The Single Desi

Being single has its benefits. You are free; you are open to new experiences. You go wherever the world takes you and you have all that money and time to yourself.
However there is some negativity attached to being single. For example, there is no socialization security. You limit yourself to whoever is open to you. You go out, put on a nice dress and attract whatever the universe sends in your direction.

In Sex and the Single Desi, Sarina Jain talks about Masala Bhangra – a popular fitness program which she started 12 years ago from her garage. This single woman talks with Monica Marwah about health and fitness and succeeding at what you do. She says, “It is about good nutrition but its also about working out. Lifting weights as well. Building that strength.” She shares quick tips for exercising while commuting and food items she’s never without.

“Over the years, I have learned to be more protective and loving towards myself, therefore making excuses for other people’s blatant disrespect is something I am not willing to spend my life doing.

Sometimes, when you are around someone who is being uncharacteristically rude or nasty and walking away is leaving you with unanswered questions, then posing the question “Why are you so mean?” can help get a person to understand that it isn’t acceptable to behave this way around people, regardless of whether he likes you or not.”

Guest Blog – Sex and the Single Desi

“One of my friends in the States is a head turner. Not only is she unrealistically stunning but is also an extremely bright and successful lawyer. She is just the woman we all aspire to be. But what meets the eye is in sheer contrast to the life she leads.
At home with her husband she is a subdued woman who does not dare speak – her life is run more in fear than in the worship she so obviously deserves.” – Chatty Diva

Anand Giridharadas’s ‘India Calling’ – evocative and insightful – is almost a road map to the New India which has so much of the old India mixed in it. The book has been re-introducing young Indian-Americans to the land many left as children or may have never seen. Then there is the older generation of Indian-Americans who came as immigrants many years ago and still see the India they left decades ago, frozen in time.

“As I get older, I find myself trying to rediscover some of the values of our Indian culture which shaped my childhood and still run as an uneasy undercurrent through my adult psyche, but for the most part have been suppressed in the desire to adapt to the New York lifestyle.
As with all value systems, of course, not everything is desirable and it’s necessary to pick and choose the best of both Indian and American values in order to be truly happy.” – Sanjay Sanghoee

Why did I marry this person, when God knew that our marriage wouldn’t last more than two years?
Why did I hook up with this guy and get dumped afterward when God knew it would happen, what was the point?
Why did my best friend in the whole world steal my boyfriend, why did God introduce her to me and why did we click so well?
Why did my loser ex-husband take my children and money, when all I did was give him my love and support?
Why did I study so hard for a career that landed me unemployed and/or unhappy?
Guest Blog: Sex and the Single Desi