London, in color

Sitting in my aunt’s London home and watching an Indian Premier League cricket match between the Bangalore Royal Challengers and Kings XI Punjab, I was a little overwhelmed. Not only had I just come from a world of near non-existence on the part of South Asians, but I had entered a society where brown people dominate as the minority.

Maybe it hit me the hardest when I went walking with a group of my aunts in a nearby park and garden, them in their dupatas and salwaar kameez and me in my jeans and t-shirt. I followed along as they examined the flowers and scenic views, hearing all of their urdu banter and smiling every time we passed by any white English people, who seemed completely unfazed by these aunties and their traditional garb and banter, something the passers-by had clearly grown accustomed to seeing in every aspect of their livelihood.

Perhaps I had become so used to a one-race society that my perception of diversity had been skewed. Or maybe it was just that I was used to being a part of a small minority in the US and not a near-majority, as things seem to be in Britain. But in everything, from the airport, to the grocery store, to the radio and even to the mainstream sports network, South Asians had left their mark.

Punjab had handily beaten Bangalore, the stadium and red/white Punjab jerseys plastered with ads and the white British commentators promising us more action tomorrow, between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Daredevils (the day after there would be a match between the Mubai Indians and Chennai Super Kings).