Desi Manifesto Blog: The Forum for South Asian American Men

* The quirky and forward-thinking Canadian TV (CBC) show, “Little Mosque on the Prairie,” is being adapted (and potentially ruined) by FOX. Even if it doesn’t make it to air, this is progress. Unless it’s some kind of feeder for “24″ villains. Ugh. Props to writer Zarqa Nawaz, as she has created a show unlike anything currently around. The desi moment is that she’s of Pakistani origin, BTW.

And she answered some questions after the pilot aired. Watch the pilot (takes a long time to load). [Thanks Nirali Magazine]

[Blogger: S.I.] Be proud. A day we never thought would come has in fact arrived. A South Asian on the front page of ESPN.com…

* For spelling (at least it’s something). Young Samir Patel and his life after the bee, courtesy of ESPN.com. Good to see a smart kid who’s not afraid of being smart (not that the desis ever had such problems. We probably could use more humility. But not this kid).

And realistically, I don’t know the next time we’ll see another brown person on ESPN.com like this again. Enjoy it.

Personally, I’ve always felt (and gotten the vibe from East Asians and East Asian Americans) that Indians and Asians are indeed two separate groups. The concept of Asia is just what white people drew on a map as “East of Where White People Live”-land, and I don’t feel like abiding by their construct. Beyond our basic looks, our cultures, while vaguely similar, are still quite different, as are the religions and lifestyles.

* Adhir Kalyan, whom we blogged about in our review of the CW’s “Aliens in America,” bagged a role as an up-and-coming wunderkind doctor on FX’s “Nip/Tuck.” Amazingly, the writers of the show displayed their all-world creativity when they named the character “Raj.” On a happier note, that boy is going to get LAID, both on the program and in real life, because of his role on that show. It’s LA, you know. And I 100% support the sexual objectification of the Indian male by women as well as the resulting residual play from the trickle-down effect. [Thanks Angry Asian Man]

Terrible couple of weeks for large swaths of Asia, from the South to the East to the Southeast. Whether it was Cyclone Nargis bludgeoning Burma (though perhaps the ruling military junta’s indignant stance is the greater tragedy as her people suffer), the 7.9 magnitude quake in central China, or the terrorist attacks in Jaipur, India, this has been a devastating and shitty month for the most populous regions of the world.

Sometimes I feel resigned to the cycle. If Buddha and the Gita had it right, life is just suffering. Is this an un-Disney circle of life? Maybe this is just how things go, and will we ever change anything unless we change everything? And what new problems will those changes bring?

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?

Somehow, a degree of Westernization my feeble mind never grasped was the concept of cheerleaders in India. Not even the idea that it probably wouldn’t work. This was so far from the realm of possibility that it never occurred to me, period.

Well, it’s happening, and the Washington Redskins appear quite proud of it. While there are plenty of Indians in DC, the ‘Skins would prefer to take their ‘world vision’ to the subcontinent. I guess they decided to cover both sets of Indians, one with their team name and the other on this goodwill trip that most likely will become a disaster, international incident, or both (just look at the faces of the men in the crowd, and thanks to the Washington Post for the pic).

This past Thursday, NBC aired an episode of “The Office.” And while that show has slipped so far down the crapper that no creative plunger can retrieve it, I found myself thoroughly pleased. Because of a GE commercial that aired during the show.This advertisement starred Indians, depicted India, and portrayed elements of Indian culture.

And to my complete shock, it didn’t suck. In fact, it was very well executed and showed awareness.

I think I’m getting soft.