It’s something of a perennial question for some – but unlike our black brothers and sisters – we continue to be dogged by this question…are we cool enough for Britain? Why not just come out and say it, man – are we sexy enough?
Perhaps when you’re young and making your way in the world, it’s one of the strongest impulses you have – to want to be seen as cool, in the know, and on the edge of exciting things, and just a little bit hot, baby…
Asians never are, are they?
That would seem to be the premise from which a talk unfolded on Friday evening, titled, ‘British Asian Culture – Doomed to be uncool?’
Programmed by Asia House, a business and cultural institute in London, hosting its annual Festival of Asian Literature (until May 22), it brought together four figures, whom it saw as cool and unconventional to give their take on the provocative statement.
The debate – much less of an argument, which would have been more welcome and spicy – veered around music, pop star Jay Sean, and whether in some lines of work, being Asian is a help or a hindrance.
No, they didn’t really touch on the subject of Asians being sexy or not, though later novelist Gautam Malkani mentioned it and well, maybe next time, folks…But for now, giving their take on the community’s development were well-known DJs Nihal (Arthanayake) and Bobbie Friction, who not so long ago, fronted a music show on Radio1 together and became the first Asian Djs to hold such a position on Auntie.
Cookery writer Ravinder Bhogal whose work has been praised by Gordon Ramsay and playwright and performer Siddhartha Bose, who grew up in India, unlike the other three.
Moderating the proceedings was award-winning author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera who probably had more to contribute, but played it very straight and let the panellists do all the talking. Apparently, there was a tweet going around on him being “the least cool British Asian”, but he has a job with the Times and a much praised memoir, The Boy with the Top Knot to be worried about any of that.
There was a sense that the premise didn’t matter – “The people who are cool are those who don’t think about being cool,” said Nihal. And yes, “everyone has their own sense of cool,” he added.
It would have been interesting to hear who the panellists thought was the epitome of Asian cool but that question got a lost little and having two DJs on the panel meant music bagged more time than other subject areas.
Nihal pointed out the Jay Sean was the first British Asian pop star to break through and had a following here as a ‘cool’ figure among young Asians, but reminded everyone that real success for Sean came only after moving to the US, and having a no1 hit there.
He contrasted Sean’s experience to Talvin Singh, who had won the Mercury Music prize in 1999 but had failed to make a wider impact on the mainstream, securing the lowest sales surge after winning one of Britain’s top music prizes.
For Bobbie, now on the Asian Network, and based in Birmingham, there was a stark contrast between London and other areas. “London is a multicultural utopia and even Punjabis in Hounslow are different to the ones in London.”
Many in the capital, almost exclusively ethnic, will readily call themselves ‘Londoners’, ahead of any other moniker, though again Bobbie said it was not unusual to hear people refer to themselves now as ‘British Punjabi’ or even ‘British Mirpuri’ as he dissected the notion of British Asian and a homogeneous British Asian identity.
Perhaps the term British Asian is dying on its feet but to abandon it completely would be foolish and unnecessary but then that’s just a personal reflection.
For Bhogal, being Asian had both good and bad aspects and when it came to cooking, there was always the expectation that she would have to make a curry, whatever her other culinary skills.
Performance artist Bose talked about how he was drawn to Britain from the US, where he was studying, because “things were happening and there was a scene”. It was cool, from the outside then.Wrapping up, Adrienne Loftus Parkins, one of the festival organisers, said: “As a minority of a minority (Canadian), I think you’re pretty cool.”
But then, she’s already sold on the idea – and you can bet your bottom dollar those people voting for UKIP right now, don’t think we’re cool at all and there are rather more of them.
By Sailesh Ram
