InsideDesi: Best Articles of 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
In the 8 months that InsideDesi has inhabited this side of the Internet (launching in April this year!), we have seen our columnists produce articles of all nature, ranging from the thought provoking, to the funny, and not to miss out the ones highlighting stories of concern. Today we look back at some of my favourite articles of the duration, so read on to see what you may have missed...
InsideDesi interview with Tre Azam (Apprentice)
One of our earliest interviews, Tre brought with him his trademark brand of wit and humour (in reference to his application to the Apprentice he said "A friend said I'd be good at it. I watched one show, saw Syed and thought if he could do it, I can do it. I filled in the application form, where it said what annoys me the most in the world of business, I wrote stupid people, ugly people and fat people. I didn't even take the interview seriously.")
Aliya Razaaq's review of Brick Lane
A poignant review of the Monica Ali film adaptation; Aliya does an excellent job of relaying the core aspects of the film, finally giving it a score out of ten.
Cashing in on the Indian Premier League
At the time it was one of the most talked about topics in and out of South Asia. The IPL managed to commercialise and bring the world's attention to a game which till then had only been spoken about by the masses during its World Cup cycle.
The Superwoman Complex
Kia Abdullah's first article for InsideDesi; it talks about Asian women, and what she says is their seeming need to prove themselves to their male counterparts. A very thought provoking read if you haven't already.
Lady Jalebi goes Speed Dating
How can we have a "Best of" without having a Lady Jalebi article in the mix? With her pursuit high and wide for "The One", Miss.Jalebi plays her luck at a Speed Dating event. Funny, witty, and a great read!
Shades of Brown
Kia talks about the infighting within South Asians. The second one of her articles in the list. Racism within our own communities exist (it would be almost silly to claim otherwise). The divide between people originating from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is ever present, even in 21st century Britain.
Where are the darker skinned roles models?
Aliya Rashid asks a very relevant question aimed at the South Asian media industry. Is the singular use of fair models (some not even Asian) within the Asian media space ethical? Is the promotion of skin lighting creams by these publications morally correct? With the skin lightening industry worth £100m in India alone, should we be making a stand against this?
Here come the Indians
The Indians are here to stay! - Not only that, but they're slowly making their presence known in the Worlds rich lists (and buying huge chunks of British companies, even whole companies, in the process). While you're reading the article, check out the little war of words in the comments section between Shamik Das (the author) and Tre Azam (The Apprentice) - it adds a nice touch of humour to the whole thing.
Lost Freshies and Ignorant Desis
Naushad , one of the newest recruits to InsideDesi, writes a ground breaking piece on the friction between British Asian's and new South Asian Immigrants (aka "Freshies"). The discrimination they face, the segregation they put up with, the ignorant attitudes towards them, Naushad, from first hand experience, breaks down the illogical nature of it all.
What was your favourite InsideDesi article from 2008? Tell us about it in the comments section.
Originally Published on InsideDesi.com
Feeling Poetic...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Actually I'm not. But I was when I wrote these:
Bidrohi part 2
dedicated to Kazi Nazrul Islam
July '07
I am the epitome of a soldier
fighting to the end
I am that peak
that you struggle to ascend
my name is propaganda
feeding lies to your son
I am a Palestinian
living life under the gun
I am the path of obscurity
that seeks to confuse
I am the addiction
that you cannot refuse
I am that person
who you seek for inspiration
I am that thought
that gives you motivation
no matter the cost
I will not cease
no matter the loss
they will hear me speak
I am a rebel
and a rebel is he
I am a poet
I am Kazi Nazrul Islam
---
The Assassin
July '07
I tread softly within your midst
Carrying the world with me
At times I decree my force
Tearing everything that may be
Predictions do not stand
Questioned by the renaissance
The thunder and the waves
As I levy into my stance
Save Us is the Mantra
They speak only in tongues
There is none other
I am the only one.
---
Jay Sean’s new video...
Sunday, November 09, 2008
One thing I did intriguing was the use of a black model (rather than an Asian or a mixed race one) and her very strong presence in the video. From an image and marketing perspective, it seems to be a very logical and thought out decision; Jay, to further himself in the mainstream arena, needs to less push his Asian identity in order to minimise being sidelined as an "Asian artist". In an obscure way, the black model (and I'm sure the presence of Wheezy and co. in future videos) adds a level of authenticity to the song (it being music of black origin and all).
On the topic of Asian R'nB artists. I recently stumbled across Zee Kay (http://www.myspace.com/zeekaymusic). If anyone hasn't heard of him, I suggest they look him up; he seems to be a very promising Asian act. What defines him from the rest is that he is closely working with the founder of Big Brovaz (they had HUGE success a few years back), and also his music is very very approachable. Rather than going for an exclusively Asian sound/look in an attempt to build a base of desi fans before trying to tackle the mainstream, he seems to be heading straight in, head first. This not only makes it less likely for him to be categorised and pushed in the corner as just another Asian act, but also gives him a massive amount of credibility for the level of confidence. The added element of Mr Skills in the picture, with his proven track record, further perpetuates his likelihood of success.
I'm sure 2009 is going to prove to be an exciting year for Asian artists. Jay Sean, Zee Kay… and not forgetting Mumzy (wherever he seems to hiding!).
Bombs on UK train – But where is the media frenzy?
Friday, November 07, 2008
"A man has been charged with carrying two bombs on a train ahead of a planned terror attack."
Indeedy, you guessed it; the man in question wasn't Muslim. This yet another example of a biased media system, willing to give all their screen time and newspaper real estate to the smallest incidents involving "Muslims" caught up in the wrong side of the law, no matter how non threatening their so called actions were (anyone remember the 23 year old "Lyrical Terrorist’ who wrote “extremist poems”?).
A full article on the train incident can be found here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3394044/A-man-found-with-two-homemade-bombs-charged-with-terror-offences.html
…and it wasn’t easy of me to find neither (did a search for it after catching the tail end of a news piece on the BBC Asian Network).
So when people like Robert Cottage (found with the largest stock pile of weapons uncovered on British Soil) and Neil Lewington (above) have definite means and plans (and even caught in the process) to commit acts of terror, a tumble weed rolls by, the crickets chirp, and everyone smiles as if nothing happened. But when a Muslim covert, Nicky Reilly, who is diagnosed medically as mentally ill, attempts to bomb an Exeter Restaurant, it's plastered on the front page of newspapers from here to Baghdad?!
-- p.s. I did hope to keep my new spangly blog away from politics and religion...but hey.
Drowning in Electronic Communication...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Being always connected to the “grid” far from makes our lives more convenient and efficient. As a result of the internets (sic), mobile phones, pagers, email, social networking etc. our lives are moving at a faster pace than ever. The predictions made back in the 80’s on how technology would change our lives in the future centred around a common theme: more leisure time - where technology and computers would attend to all of our bidding, leaving us (in our shiny foil like overalls) to sip milkshake, and sit in our own version of swivelling Big Brother chairs.
The reality is so far from this however, one would actually question the basis of them. People are almost slaves to the technology around them (to extents that can be described as psychological addictions). People experience this in varying forms, from users of BlackBerrys (aka CrackBerrys), who are continually interrupted by amplitudes of emails; to mobile phone users who’s to and fro of text messages consume them. Instead of waiting days for a response, we are able to reply in real time, soliciting further communication (i.e. the response to the response), leaving us embroiled in electronic heck.
Furthermore work is no longer sitting at an office, with mobile technologies, it is now a state of mind one is asked to switch on and off as required. But the problem is that many people cannot switch off, being plagued by push systems (converse to pull systems such as traditional email) wherever they go and at whatever time.
We do get more done, but the stresses we put ourselves in are counter to what we are physically capable of as human beings. Certain health conditions and medical ailments are seeing record numbers, with doctors attributing the causes primarily to stress and overworking.
So what’s the solution? Is there a solution? Do we all give up our laptops and swanky mobile phones and retreat to the countryside?
I personally find switching off my mobile phone at certain time during the day very helpful. I also try and avoid replying instantly to certain non-urgent emails to slow down the pace of dialogue. That said - I’m sure everyone has their own tried and tested ways of dealing with the drowning communication problem - it would be great if you could share them below.
