Americans and Canadians of Indian origin are a peculiar breed of high achievers with even higher expectations ---- particularly from their own children. While they expect kids to emulate their American counterparts in some matters, they expect kids to remain Indian – because sanskar! Lilly Singh is an international YouTube sensation (nearly 15M subscribers and now host of her own late show) precisely because of how successfully she captures the Indian diaspora experience. Her latest YouTube video speaks about what would happen if an Indian kid in America had Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris as a cousin.
Right now, a lot of Indian kids in the United States are going through their Sharmaji ka Ladka moment: where parents are basically telling them that they need to be more like someone else: a cousin, a friend’s daughter/son and so on. It maybe something of a stereotype but there is always the expectation that the kid should be a straight As student and later someone with a successful, lucrative career and an upstanding pillar of the community…. Ideally, someone like Kamala Harris.
If one is not a ‘sanskari’ kid who wakes up early, works hard, dresses a certain way and toes the parental line, one doesn’t quite measure up. And they are likely to be told this in no uncertain terms – repeatedly. And if one’s cousin is more successful, famous, accomplished and highly placed than that kid; that poor kid’s had it.
Lilly gleefully takes digs at all the little foibles of the Indian living abroad. Heating is turned down because one must economise where possible (even at the cost of personal comfort). Dropping names (the cousin casually letting slip that she had breakfast with some very important people) is quite alright. One must put on a good front – even if that front is somewhat inaccurate.
The video speaks about that good old Indian double standard. While one may not be forgiven for having a boyfriend of another caste much less another race, such transgressions may be forgiven if one is successful enough.
No matter how successful a woman is, she does ultimately have to ‘settle down’ to matrimony; preferably with a suitable, successful, rich guy. And if she can produce some nice male grandchildren, all the better!
Lilly Singh was always compared with her cousins growing up, she says below the video. But just imagine what Kamala Harris’s cousins are going through right now! But then as one of the comments below the video pointed out, even Kamala Harris is getting some flack right about now – because vice president is like coming second isn’t it? She is probably getting asked right now – why aren’t you POTUS?
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