‘American Desis’ Podcast Explores the Changing Landscape for Desi Youth in America

This week, "American Desis" Podcast co-hosts Arjun Gupta and Akaash Singh brought out their youngest podcast guest ever.

This week, “American Desis” Podcast co-hosts Arjun Gupta and Akaash Singh brought on their youngest podcast guest ever, Anshika Bagla, who graduated high school in May.

She spent most of the podcast unintentionally making Gupta and Singh feel very, very old. She brought with her a perspective of a changing desi landscape in America, and her youthful view was refreshing and then some.

Growing up in Cerritos, Calif., Bagla said she never felt like a minority because of the large the number of Indians and Asians in her city. In fact, Bagla went so far as to support Gupta’s extrapolation that in her high school, white students were in the minority.

I was just as surprised by this as Singh and Gupta were, but I am not entirely sure I believe this theory. Maybe my disbelief is just a sign of how ridiculously old I am—I mean, Bagla barely even knew who Barbara Walters was when asked, but I digress. After coming to grips with my age, I was able to move on and be happy for Bagla’s childhood of never really feeling “different” thanks to the diversity in her school.

Interestingly enough, despite being surrounded by Asians, Bagla also said she has never strongly identified with her “Asian-ness.” She feels like some of this was further lost when she stopped going to kashi (temple, not the granola bar brand as our hosts jokingly proposed) because she strongly ties religion and culture together. Most interesting to me was Bagla’s parent’s support of her Agnosticism. She divulged that they have never pressured her to change her beliefs, and they have helped her maintain her ties to the aspects of her culture that she does still identify with such as the language, food, clothes, and music. In a culture where parents often insist on their children blindly following their own beliefs, Bagla’s parents deserve to be commended for their support.

The interview pushed forward and it quickly became more evident for Singh and Gupta that Bagla’s experiences of acceptance as an Indian-American have been far removed from their own experiences. However, Singh actually stated that he feels like some experience with racism is beneficial to personal growth. While on a certain level I can understand his perspective, I am not entirely sure I would go that far. Instead, I personally want to hear more and more stories like Bagla’s—stories where conversations about race do not even necessarily come to play other than to say “oh, yeah, I thankfully have never experienced that.” I realize that my wish is incredibly idealistic, but one can only hope that America, the so-called melting pot of the world, will one day fully embrace the diversity upon which it thrives.

So, take some time to listen to this week’s podcast for a glimpse into Bagla’s youthful and accepting world; once you shake off the “I’m so old” feeling, you will feel refreshed and hopeful about the future of America.