The Amazing Race Asia 3, with participants and race locations based in Asia, had two Indian teams on the race – one was eliminated on the fourth leg while the other Indian team lost in the first round itself.
 Neena and Amit Rai [ source ] |  Niroo and Kapil Asrani [ source ] |
Niroo and Kapil were eliminated because the stupid car keys just wouldn’t come out…
The good thing about TARA3 is that it has a very high educational value for us Asians who I must say, are quite "politically incorrect" sometimes, which can be misinterpreted as racism on many occasions.
For example, most Indians utter the word "chinky" to describe people of oriental origin without knowing it has a very harsh and deep racist connotation, or think that people of such origin are all Chinese. Likewise, many people from South East Asia assume all Indians are just… Indians, you know, people who speak the same language, share the same cultural traditions etc. which is definitely not so!
We need to be more aware about what’s going on and how things are around us. Even if we don’t have any personal experiences to learn from, we can always learn it from the experiences of others.
Hence it is a great honor to meet one of the Indian participants of Amazing Race Asia-3 Kapil Asrani - a really funny chap and a colleague of my sister. I decided to interview him on the topic of Amazing Race and Racial differences/stereotypes that he experienced.
For example, most Indians utter the word "chinky" to describe people of oriental origin without knowing it has a very harsh and deep racist connotation, or think that people of such origin are all Chinese. Likewise, many people from South East Asia assume all Indians are just… Indians, you know, people who speak the same language, share the same cultural traditions etc. which is definitely not so!
We need to be more aware about what’s going on and how things are around us. Even if we don’t have any personal experiences to learn from, we can always learn it from the experiences of others.
Hence it is a great honor to meet one of the Indian participants of Amazing Race Asia-3 Kapil Asrani - a really funny chap and a colleague of my sister. I decided to interview him on the topic of Amazing Race and Racial differences/stereotypes that he experienced.
Kima: Hi Kapil, thanx again for sparing some time for me and my readers.
Kapil: The pleasure’s all mine Kima.
Kima: So who did you like the most during the race? (smiles)
Kapil: Tish. It has to be Tish. She’s extremely sweet and genuine.
Kima: What did you learn from this race?
Kapil: Number 1. If you don’t know where to go, don’t panic.
Number 2. Cockroaches look & feel even worse the morning after you’ve eaten them!
Kima: What is the one thing you have noticed in all the contestants?
Kapil: That everybody has their own unique weak point.
Kima: ok, let’s get down to racial topics now (smiles). What is the one thing you have noticed when it comes to racial identity?
Kapil: (smiles) Well, for starters, even though I was mentally prepared about the whole racial diversity and stuff, it still sounds odd sometimes when I hear the other contestants curse about the local language of a particular country and how they don’t understand the culture etc. Even though I tried to be as politically correct as possible, it was difficult putting on a straight face.
Were the reception and hospitality you received from the locals nice?
The locals were welcoming, but definitely, there was a preference that was displayed by everyone towards
1. People with similar features
2. (this is a big one) Women!
What do you think could be the reason for this?
Nobody was extremely nasty with us because we’re Indians, in fact some were quite fascinated because we didn’t look like your normal American backpackers, but to be fair, they didn’t know what to expect. Oh hell, we scared them to death too. East Asian countries all have very soft spoken people, and we definitely startled them with our loud behaviour. In any case, what counts is the welcome given to us, which was good, but others on the race had it a little easier.
Did people stare at you like how people over here stare at foreigners?
Oh yes, especially in Vietnam, we noticed a lot of stares, but Thailand, Taiwan etc. were extremely discreet and seemed comfortable with all kinds of people. But again, the polite behaviour stayed till the time we didn’t initiate contact. Once we tried to talk, some people found it funny and laughed at our face, while the others were so scared! But yes, the way we stare at foreigners in India is way above the degree of attention we got there.
Did you feel comfortable being with people of different races?
It was extremely difficult for us to bridge the gap created by the difference in cultures of our country & East Asia. But the people on the The Amazing Race were so cool, that everyone there accepted us irrespective of these differences. Everybody was so warm, welcoming and most importantly, genuine. That is something we really miss even among Indians. They speak and act with their heart, and nobody is afraid of the truth. Love & hate are both taken sportingly. Definitely, even though breaking in was difficult, we were quite comfortable once accepted.
What do you think is the main cause of this race groupism and divide we see in Asian countries?
Teams on the race from Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Thailand, the Phillipines etc. were all on a similar plane, and even shared similar interests. They traveled so much within their sector that everyone knew each others’ cities, cultures etc. It’s only that their life is a far cry from ours. I think this divide is self created by the Indian sub continent & our rigid cultures. While they travel to each others’ countries, we fight with five of our seven neighbouring states. While they claim land from the sea, we take ten years to make a sea link. While they accept gays & swingers, we are yet to acknowledge the existence of a voluntary sex worker (they are rescued!!). No wonder they’ve moved on to better stuff, and we’re caught with regionalism, religion and politics!
Thank you so much for your time Kapil. If you had the chance to take part in this race again, would you?
Absofreakinglutely! Of course I would!
With that ended a great interview. Racial assimilation is tough, but sometimes it is the only solution to universal brotherhood. The other day my office decided to throw a cultural ethnic day and we were all told to come to office dressed in one of our traditional dresses.
Since I didn’t have any Mizo traditional dress like the ones below…
Kapil: The pleasure’s all mine Kima.
Kima: So who did you like the most during the race? (smiles)
Kapil: Tish. It has to be Tish. She’s extremely sweet and genuine.
Kima: What did you learn from this race?
Kapil: Number 1. If you don’t know where to go, don’t panic.
Number 2. Cockroaches look & feel even worse the morning after you’ve eaten them!
Kima: What is the one thing you have noticed in all the contestants?
Kapil: That everybody has their own unique weak point.
Kima: ok, let’s get down to racial topics now (smiles). What is the one thing you have noticed when it comes to racial identity?
Kapil: (smiles) Well, for starters, even though I was mentally prepared about the whole racial diversity and stuff, it still sounds odd sometimes when I hear the other contestants curse about the local language of a particular country and how they don’t understand the culture etc. Even though I tried to be as politically correct as possible, it was difficult putting on a straight face.
Were the reception and hospitality you received from the locals nice?
The locals were welcoming, but definitely, there was a preference that was displayed by everyone towards
1. People with similar features
2. (this is a big one) Women!
What do you think could be the reason for this?
Nobody was extremely nasty with us because we’re Indians, in fact some were quite fascinated because we didn’t look like your normal American backpackers, but to be fair, they didn’t know what to expect. Oh hell, we scared them to death too. East Asian countries all have very soft spoken people, and we definitely startled them with our loud behaviour. In any case, what counts is the welcome given to us, which was good, but others on the race had it a little easier.
Did people stare at you like how people over here stare at foreigners?
Oh yes, especially in Vietnam, we noticed a lot of stares, but Thailand, Taiwan etc. were extremely discreet and seemed comfortable with all kinds of people. But again, the polite behaviour stayed till the time we didn’t initiate contact. Once we tried to talk, some people found it funny and laughed at our face, while the others were so scared! But yes, the way we stare at foreigners in India is way above the degree of attention we got there.
Did you feel comfortable being with people of different races?
It was extremely difficult for us to bridge the gap created by the difference in cultures of our country & East Asia. But the people on the The Amazing Race were so cool, that everyone there accepted us irrespective of these differences. Everybody was so warm, welcoming and most importantly, genuine. That is something we really miss even among Indians. They speak and act with their heart, and nobody is afraid of the truth. Love & hate are both taken sportingly. Definitely, even though breaking in was difficult, we were quite comfortable once accepted.
What do you think is the main cause of this race groupism and divide we see in Asian countries?
Teams on the race from Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Thailand, the Phillipines etc. were all on a similar plane, and even shared similar interests. They traveled so much within their sector that everyone knew each others’ cities, cultures etc. It’s only that their life is a far cry from ours. I think this divide is self created by the Indian sub continent & our rigid cultures. While they travel to each others’ countries, we fight with five of our seven neighbouring states. While they claim land from the sea, we take ten years to make a sea link. While they accept gays & swingers, we are yet to acknowledge the existence of a voluntary sex worker (they are rescued!!). No wonder they’ve moved on to better stuff, and we’re caught with regionalism, religion and politics!
Thank you so much for your time Kapil. If you had the chance to take part in this race again, would you?
Absofreakinglutely! Of course I would!
With that ended a great interview. Racial assimilation is tough, but sometimes it is the only solution to universal brotherhood. The other day my office decided to throw a cultural ethnic day and we were all told to come to office dressed in one of our traditional dresses.
Since I didn’t have any Mizo traditional dress like the ones below…
 [ image source : kamat’s potpourri ] |  [ image courtesy: father_sphinx ] |
I decided to come to office in this:
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Ah, that my friends, is unity in diversity. There you go. The perfect dress for the perfect interview!
Cheers to India’s rich diversity!
Cheers to India’s rich diversity!
| If you enjoy being in a diverse group or a fan of "The Amazing Race Asia" please feel free to digg this post! |
