My Pink Camera

We are each burdened with prejudice; against the poor or the rich, the smart or the slow, the gaunt or the obese.  It is natural to develop prejudices.  It is noble to rise above them. 

 - Author Unknown 

My 13 year old cousin asked laughing why my digital was pink in color. I said when I went to buy it was the only model I liked which fit my budget and pink was the only color available. I got a bit uncomfortable just after finishing that. I had to add immediately add that I desperately wanted to buy a camera so didn't want to wait till other colors were available. But now, I don't feel like using my camera in front of everybody thinking somebody would laugh again. A guy having a pink camera sounds sissy and gay. Whenever I get a chance, I will send this camera to my parents in India. Colors are not much an issue there.

When I was shopping for clothes back in India and deciding which of the old ones I must take with me to America, many of my friends would tell me I should avoid clothes of colors like yellow, bright blue, green, red and pink. What I failed to realize is that these people had never been to America and what they talk is only about whatever half-knowledge they had. Just because I heeded to them I left so many of my favorite shirts back in Hyderabad. Here my aunt gifted me shirts which were yellow, green and red in color. My cousins say even pink will go fine. My friends from Hyderabad know nothing.

Accessories that are pink in color are what I need to avoid, not clothes. Perhaps things are a bit different up north in places like Chicago but here in Texas all colors are good for guys. I have been having so many waves of anger for a friend who used to continuously asked me to avoid these colors. He is still in Hyderabad and when he sees me wearing those colors in the pictures I send him he comments saying I should avoid them all. He sounds illogical. He has little awareness of how things are here. It irritates me. I have come to a new understanding about we Indians - most of us think we run the world.

I had never worn T shirts in India. When I bought them for here I was made fun of - we Indians have this 'resistance to change' syndrome within us. I bought sizes I thought fit me well. Here my aunt and cousins told me I need to wear loose sizes. And now when I do that, all Indians in my university look at me as if I have committed some big sin. Keeping hair small is what everybody prefers here unless there is some specific styling adopted. When I cut my hair small for the first time I had a host of questions to answer. I appreciate change as long as it doesn't go again what Allah allows us. We Indians have a tendency to stay deeply faithful with our culture no matter what Allah allows us to do.

The other day at a party my cousins and their friends were having a discussion on having Chicken from outside - chicken which is halaal but not zabiha. After some detailed contentions that were put forth and comments from scholars, most of whom say it's perfectly alright to eat this meat, somebody asked "so why do we make such a big deal about this?" and there was a Chinese friend who replied "desis make it a big deal". We Indians are like that. Though I am convinced I can eat Chicken anywhere outside, I don't eat it only because my father doesn't seem to be convinced. I am avoiding it for him and it's alright with me.