The Pakistani wants to be stereotyped as ... Indian?

I was reading this droll essay by a Pakistani Muslim wishing ...

Sometimes, I long for the blurry cultural identities of the 80s, when elementary school friends lumped all Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Egyptian immigrants in one brown-hued bucket: "India." Who wouldn't rather be affiliated with "Slumdog Millionaire," Metro PCS's Ranjit and Chad, Chicken Tikkah Masala, Bhangra remixes and Bollywood instead of religious extremism and Al Qaeda? Pakistani culture has some bomb [sic] biryani, lively and critical political commentary, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and dubious Lollywood entertainment. But we rarely hear anything about that.

when I got stuck at his mention of "Metro PCS's Ranjit and Chad"? Who are Ranjit and Chad? Googling them took me to this article ... the things you miss when you don't watch TV.

It's a little sad that he holds up that cheesy nerdy stereotype as a step up.

Ironically, he probably meant to say "lamb biriyani" but it turned up in the article as "bomb biriyani". Any true Indian nerd would have told him not to rely on spell checkers.

1 comment:

  1. The reference to "bomb biriyani" probably means that in Pakistan one can find an excellent biriyani compared to elsewhere. It could be vegetable, chicken or lamb biriyani. For example, "That biriyani is da bomb man!" However, such colloquialisms are in poor taste (pun intended) when referencing Pakistanis or Pakistan in light of current circumstances.

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