Second Generation Indian Americans are coming of age. How are they creating community in their adult lives? How does it differ from the way their parents did it?
The choose-your-own adventure generation, comfortable in America and brought up with Indian values, who are choosing to work in politics and the arts, marrying outside their race and religion and setting up lives in far-flung urban locales are still seeking each other out. They hunger for a sense of community with other Indian Americans, for the cousin-like familiarity and the shorthand.
But, the groups look entirely different this time around.
We all have memories of our parents moving to a new city, opening up the phone book, and scanning for last names that are Bengali, Gujurati, Punjabi, etc. They entered a community that felt like a tiny replica of India in suburban America, eating the familiar foods, wearing saris and singing classical Indian songs together.
Our generation gathered in the “kids room,” speaking English and playing video games. The “Indian” stuff wasn’t nostalgic to us in the same way, and I always wondered what would happen when we all grew up - what would be the glue that held us together? Would we still gravitate towards each other for anything?
In DC, I see the answers. Second question: yes, we are seriously hungry to connect with each other. And as for the glue, increasingly, it’s less about language and food and more about shared interests and values. Events like “Desi Power Hour” for aspiring politicos and Subcontinental Drift’s open mic nights for sensitive poets have exploded in popularity.
All the founders had to do was create a venue that spoke to life choices, be it politics, activism, the arts, or medicine, and not just ethnicity, and the Indian Americans came flooding in. Both of the aformentioned events have grown exponentially in the last two years. They offer regularly scheduled opportunities to connect and build community slowly and organically, over repeated interactions.
The hunger was there; this generation wanted to connect with other Indian Americans, but didn’t want to do it the same way their parents did. As soon as the venues were created, word spread like wildfire.
Subcontinental Drift is the name given to what was initially an open mic night for “basement desis.” A few years ago, the founders created a venue for South Asians with an artistic bent to share music, stories and poetry with each other. Initially just a few dozen folks gathering in a bar, Subcontinental Drift now boasts 700+ members. The hungry participants meet often for open mic nights, BBQ’s, photography exhibitions, bhangra dance nights and more. Sophia Qureshi, one of the founders, watched a recent Open Mic with a warm, satisfied grin. “It’s kind of like being at an Uncle’s house, right?”
As we grow up, I’m curious to see how our generation finds its own Indian American life. How will we maintain the organizations, newspapers and grocery stores that our parents created and adapt them to our needs, and what new structures will pop up to fill in the spaces?
