How do you sum up the experiences of Australia's second-largest migrant population in one book? Growing Up Indian In Australia editor Aarti Betigeri speaks on the dangers of assuming all Indians had the same upbringing.
Growing up in Australia, I found that "being Indian " was often stereotyped as speaking Hindi and being obsessed with Bollywood.
"I'm from a Maharashtrian/Kannada background and also can't really relate to the North Indian culture that is often presented as representative of all Indian culture here," Aarti told the ABC. Released last week, the book features 29 established and emerging writers who hail from all corners of India.While they have different backgrounds and religions, their stories share the same iconic Aussie themes: Country Road bags, endless coastlines, clubbing and the occasional goon sack."Every author shared experiences of racism, discrimination and this sense of identity dislocation," Aarti said.
The Melbourne woman of Goan descent wanted to "document a small part" of her family's experience building a life in Australia.She writes about becoming "a code-switching queen" during high school and how assimilating was easier than being an "other". "To sum up the exact experiences of all Indian Australians in one single book is essentially the antitheses of what the anthology really offers," she said.For Daizy, it wasn't easy to pour her most personal, painful memories onto the book's pages.
Anthology Aarti Betigeri Indian Australians Indians In Australia Indian Australian Growing Up Series Racism Discrimination Book Club Book Publishing
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