THE INDOFILES

The recent white-on-brown violence in Australia has brought on a flood of reaction from the desisphere. Shavran Kumar, the latest victim of an alleged hate crime, lies in critical condition, having being beaten by a group of white Australian kids who simultaneously suggested that he “go back to India”. The issue has escalated all the [...]

Ok, so maybe Sidharth Chand wasn’t all he was cracked up to be. When the 2008 runner-up bowed out early in the competition, the road was cleared for a confident Kavya Shivashankar to battle through 16 competitive rounds to the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship - overcoming the personality-less Tim Ruiter to claim the crown. [...]

And then there were 7.
If U.S. boxing has Ali-Frazier, then spelling has Shivashankar-Chand. The two desi wunderkinds advanced easily into the finals accompanied by nine others where they will duel it out this evening in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Seven of the 11 finalists are of desi origin, once again proving [...]

While it has become marginally customary to hear an Indian name on “American Idol” in the past couple of years, no other event has done more to get Indian names onto the tongues of everyday TV watchers than the Scripps National Spelling Bee. And no event has done more to underscore the stereotype that [...]

What are some of the great U.S. cities to live in if you are a 20-something or 30-something professional desi? Our esteemed panel (of one), decided to take a shot at it. There is really no criteria other that our personal experience and what we have heard from others. We based our criteria on best [...]

Yesterday, Sepia Mutiny profiled Nikki (Randhawa) Haley, an Indian American and new gubernatorial candidate for South Carolina (R).  Interested, we did some further investigation into Ms. Haley, and came away conflicted: on one hand, I very much wanted to support her quest to become the second South Asian governor. On the other hand, I really [...]

Recently, both The New York Times and NPR have had stories about Indians living in America who are returning to India. They go back for the jobs, the entrepreneurial opportunity, the bigger houses, and the amenities that come with having money in a place where there is plenty of cheap labor.
For those who have [...]

Add Anoop Desai to our desi overachievers list (right next to Dev Patel). 
The New York Daily News Gossip column says this week that Anoop Desai and Meghan Joy, both Top 10 finalists on this season’s American Idol, were spotted at - where else? - Outback Steakhouse, enjoying a cozy dinner. Anoop is a nice guy [...]

For any further proof that you ladies are looking for that Indian men are sexist, look no further than Chatav, India. 
The Hindustan Times  reported last week that Kailash Singh, based in Chatav, has not taken a bath in over 35 years — or roughly 1 more year than I have been alive. Kailash, or ‘Kalau’, [...]

Having visited India many times while growing up in America during the 80s, there were many things I looked forward to on these trips: my cousins, cadbury, and ovaltine to name a few.  But perhaps nothing was better than the novelty of drinking cold bottled soda on a hot summer day, and of the sodas, [...]