A bit of Samosa – or thoda sa Pavlova?
In the lead up to Indian Weekender’s launch just over four years ago, we often brainstormed about who our primary audience actually was. Though the publication’s masthead is a dead giveaway about who it is meant for in a general sort of a way, we had to be mindful about appealing to some sort of a least common denominator, so to speak.
The label ‘Indian’ is at once simple and complex to define, depending on the context. While trying to define and arrive at a collective name for Indian Weekender’s audience we had to contend with the complex side of ‘Indian’ – in both, the diaspora context in general and the New Zealand-Indian demographic reality in particular.
Most of us know the first Indians arrived here a little more than a century ago. They came in from India as well as from other countries that they had settled or sojourned in before. In the following decades, they arrived from Fiji, Britain, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Malaysia, Suriname, Mauritius, the Caribbean states and many other countries and territories where they had settled for generations.
You would be correct – for the most part – if you said these people were of Indian descent or drawn from Indian stock. And there is no denying that they now live in New Zealand. So after brilliant arguments and cogently thought out counter arguments in trying to zero in on the most essential ingredients to define that audience, we arrived at “Kiwi Indian” and made it a part of Indian Weekender’s tagline.
By no means is this definition perfect: What of those who came to New Zealand from Lahore, Karachi, Chittagong or Dhaka in the days of undivided India before August 1947? Are they Kiwi Indians – or are they not because of latterly drawn political boundaries? And what of those who are fourth and fifth generation individuals who have had little to do with India for more than a couple of generations now – do they fit the Kiwi Indian bill just because of this tenuous link to the past?
There are many other similar questions that could be asked, without definitive, convincing answers.
“Kiwi Indian”, then, is at best a rather fuzzy appellation that says as little or as much as anybody would care to read into it. Really, it is left to individuals to define for themselves, what definition to invest the term with. If one were to ask the 100,000+ people of ethnic Indian descent what they meant by “Kiwi Indian” you would probably get as many flavours of definitions as there are people whochoose to identify with it. And each of them would be right.
Kiwi Indian or is it Indian Kiwi?
Then there was the other thing about whether Kiwi should come first or Indian – should it be Kiwi Indian or Indian Kiwi? In the United States, people of Indian origin call themselves Indian Americans then why did Indian Weekender choose “Kiwi Indian” over “Indian Kiwi”? For one thing, Indian Americans have no choice other than to call themselves that because if they used “American Indians” they would be confused with Native Americans. Besides, there is some sort of precedent in putting the original ethnicity before “American” as in African Americans and Asian Americans.
Indian Weekender – and we in New Zealand – had a choice: “Kiwi Indian” and “Indian Kiwi” are equally good candidates. “Kiwi Indian” was chosen for a simple reason: Kiwi Indian rolls off the tongue better than Indian Kiwi – at least so we thought!
So Kiwi Indian = Kiwi Indian. Or is it? For this milestone hundredth issue, we thought why not create a little distinction between the two? Just for the fun of it – a little test among our readers to help find out how much of themselves is Kiwi and how much Indian: Are you more of a samosa or pavlova?
We came up with these twelve questions with two alternatives each. Tick the alternative you identify with the most and calculate the result at the end. That’ll tell you if you are a Kiwi Indian rather than an Indian Kiwi – a samosa before a pavlova or the other way round.
Pick one alternative (a OR b) from each of these questions:
1. When at a multi-cuisine buffet –
a) You go for chicken tikka (if non-vegetarian) and paneer tikka (if vegetarian) or
b) Fish and chips
2. Your dream for your sports-loving son is to –
a) Win a place in the world beaten Black Caps side or
b) Be part of the world beating All Blacks
3. You want your lovely daughter to learn –
a) Indian classical dancing or
b) Ballet dancing
4. At least once in a fortnight –
a) You shop at an Indian grocery store or
b) You find all your grocery needs at mainstream supermarkets
5. You would stay up late at night –
a) To watch IPL or
b) To watch the All Blacks play in Europe
6. You spend most of your holidays –
a) In your country of origin or
b) In a new country or region every time
7. You hang out most of the time with –
a) Friends from your ethnicity/country of origin or
b) Mates from diverse ethnicities from different countries
8. Your favourite thirst quencher is –
a) A bottle of Kingfisher/ Fiji Bitter or
b) A stubbie of a good Kiwi brew
9. Your favourite evening tipple is –
a) A blended/ single malt whiskey or
b) A good Kiwi red or white wine
10. Most of your non-Indian acquaintances would assume –
a) You’re an expert on cricket and Bollywood or
b) You know a thing or two about fishing and pinot noir
11. You’ve been living in NZ for a number of years –
a) You’re holding on to the citizenship of your country of origin or
b) You’ve acquired NZ citizenship or intend to become a citizen when eligible
12. If you have a daughter/son looking to getting married, you would:
a) Register them on an Indian Marimonial website and find a suitable partner from India
b) Leave them to it, they'll figure it out eventually
So, whether you’re mostly a samosa or feel like a thorough pavlova, is clear. Here is what it means:
7-12 As: You very much love Samosa
7-12 Bs: You've developed a taste for Pavlova.
In the lead up to Indian Weekender’s launch just over four years ago, we often brainstormed about who our primary audience actually was. Though the publication’s masthead is a dead giveaway about who it is meant for in a general sort of a way, we had to be mindful about appealing to some sort of a...
In the lead up to Indian Weekender’s launch just over four years ago, we often brainstormed about who our primary audience actually was. Though the publication’s masthead is a dead giveaway about who it is meant for in a general sort of a way, we had to be mindful about appealing to some sort of a least common denominator, so to speak.
The label ‘Indian’ is at once simple and complex to define, depending on the context. While trying to define and arrive at a collective name for Indian Weekender’s audience we had to contend with the complex side of ‘Indian’ – in both, the diaspora context in general and the New Zealand-Indian demographic reality in particular.
Most of us know the first Indians arrived here a little more than a century ago. They came in from India as well as from other countries that they had settled or sojourned in before. In the following decades, they arrived from Fiji, Britain, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Malaysia, Suriname, Mauritius, the Caribbean states and many other countries and territories where they had settled for generations.
You would be correct – for the most part – if you said these people were of Indian descent or drawn from Indian stock. And there is no denying that they now live in New Zealand. So after brilliant arguments and cogently thought out counter arguments in trying to zero in on the most essential ingredients to define that audience, we arrived at “Kiwi Indian” and made it a part of Indian Weekender’s tagline.
By no means is this definition perfect: What of those who came to New Zealand from Lahore, Karachi, Chittagong or Dhaka in the days of undivided India before August 1947? Are they Kiwi Indians – or are they not because of latterly drawn political boundaries? And what of those who are fourth and fifth generation individuals who have had little to do with India for more than a couple of generations now – do they fit the Kiwi Indian bill just because of this tenuous link to the past?
There are many other similar questions that could be asked, without definitive, convincing answers.
“Kiwi Indian”, then, is at best a rather fuzzy appellation that says as little or as much as anybody would care to read into it. Really, it is left to individuals to define for themselves, what definition to invest the term with. If one were to ask the 100,000+ people of ethnic Indian descent what they meant by “Kiwi Indian” you would probably get as many flavours of definitions as there are people whochoose to identify with it. And each of them would be right.
Kiwi Indian or is it Indian Kiwi?
Then there was the other thing about whether Kiwi should come first or Indian – should it be Kiwi Indian or Indian Kiwi? In the United States, people of Indian origin call themselves Indian Americans then why did Indian Weekender choose “Kiwi Indian” over “Indian Kiwi”? For one thing, Indian Americans have no choice other than to call themselves that because if they used “American Indians” they would be confused with Native Americans. Besides, there is some sort of precedent in putting the original ethnicity before “American” as in African Americans and Asian Americans.
Indian Weekender – and we in New Zealand – had a choice: “Kiwi Indian” and “Indian Kiwi” are equally good candidates. “Kiwi Indian” was chosen for a simple reason: Kiwi Indian rolls off the tongue better than Indian Kiwi – at least so we thought!
So Kiwi Indian = Kiwi Indian. Or is it? For this milestone hundredth issue, we thought why not create a little distinction between the two? Just for the fun of it – a little test among our readers to help find out how much of themselves is Kiwi and how much Indian: Are you more of a samosa or pavlova?
We came up with these twelve questions with two alternatives each. Tick the alternative you identify with the most and calculate the result at the end. That’ll tell you if you are a Kiwi Indian rather than an Indian Kiwi – a samosa before a pavlova or the other way round.
Pick one alternative (a OR b) from each of these questions:
1. When at a multi-cuisine buffet –
a) You go for chicken tikka (if non-vegetarian) and paneer tikka (if vegetarian) or
b) Fish and chips
2. Your dream for your sports-loving son is to –
a) Win a place in the world beaten Black Caps side or
b) Be part of the world beating All Blacks
3. You want your lovely daughter to learn –
a) Indian classical dancing or
b) Ballet dancing
4. At least once in a fortnight –
a) You shop at an Indian grocery store or
b) You find all your grocery needs at mainstream supermarkets
5. You would stay up late at night –
a) To watch IPL or
b) To watch the All Blacks play in Europe
6. You spend most of your holidays –
a) In your country of origin or
b) In a new country or region every time
7. You hang out most of the time with –
a) Friends from your ethnicity/country of origin or
b) Mates from diverse ethnicities from different countries
8. Your favourite thirst quencher is –
a) A bottle of Kingfisher/ Fiji Bitter or
b) A stubbie of a good Kiwi brew
9. Your favourite evening tipple is –
a) A blended/ single malt whiskey or
b) A good Kiwi red or white wine
10. Most of your non-Indian acquaintances would assume –
a) You’re an expert on cricket and Bollywood or
b) You know a thing or two about fishing and pinot noir
11. You’ve been living in NZ for a number of years –
a) You’re holding on to the citizenship of your country of origin or
b) You’ve acquired NZ citizenship or intend to become a citizen when eligible
12. If you have a daughter/son looking to getting married, you would:
a) Register them on an Indian Marimonial website and find a suitable partner from India
b) Leave them to it, they'll figure it out eventually
So, whether you’re mostly a samosa or feel like a thorough pavlova, is clear. Here is what it means:
7-12 As: You very much love Samosa
7-12 Bs: You've developed a taste for Pavlova.
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