Desi Manifesto Blog: The Forum for South Asian American Men

Reader P’s story of “the burrito”: P is an Indian guy in his early to mid 20s in LA. Works in a corporate-ish building, though his company is relatively relaxed in dress code.

During lunch break, he grabbed some food to go and made his way back to the office. As he rode the elevator up, bag with food in hand, the door opened and another building worker (different company) entered…

“Well she was a white woman probably in her late 30s. I was coming up from the parking garage and the door opened on the ground floor, I was about to step off but then I stopped and realized it was the wrong floor. She got on the elevator, looked at me and smiled, then said: “Let me guess, you’re delivering a burrito?”

Across India and the world, there is more love for basketball than ever. You see it in the public hoops being set up (though they remain few and far between). In the kids’ fashions. The commercials.

And soon, those of you in New Delhi will see some basketball firsthand, as the NBA is coming to India for Basketball Without Borders.

Aside from discovering our own 7-foot Punjabi Yao Ming wandering the countryside (Dalip Singh Rana aka The Great Khali just wasn’t built for bball), this is one way to better our chances of having someone in the NBA someday.

But of greater concern for David Stern and the Association: will this initiative even work?

Consistently, however, South Asians are the underrepresented ethnicity on the local courts. We can ruminate on the reasons, but per my experience, we’re rarely there. So when I see another mud person, I have a mixed reaction. 1) “Good, another darkie. Maybe he has game, we can be on the same squad and play without too much prejudice.” Then, immediately, 2) “Wait, he’s a darkie. This could be the first time he’s stepped on a court. Oh, he missed a layup. While practicing. It’s over. And he’ll want to be on my team just because we’re both brown.”