/ Publisher's Message, Winter 2006

by Raj Girn

Publisher’s Message, Winter 2006

Aug 06, 2013

Revelations

There’s something to be said about being proud to be who you are, I mean, who you really are. The question is, how do we figure this out? Personally, I take three things into consideration: where I came from, where I am today, and where I am headed. Sounds easy, right? But as you’ll see, for those of us from traditionally strong ethnic backgrounds, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Let me use myself as an example:

Where I came from: My mother was born in Pakistan, grew up in India, and lived most of her life in the U.K. My father was born in India, also grew up in India, and lived most of his life in the U.K. I’m the second of four sisters and one brother. All of us girls were born in England and my brother inWales. I grew up in the U.K., spent one and a half years in India, two years in the U.S., and fourteen years in Canada where I now reside amongst the hyphenated generation. Now add to this constant moving around, the fact that my family, like most South Asian families, is very close knit, but it hasn’t always been that way, especially during my teenage and early adulthood years when I fought to create my own version of me. I’m sure you can relate to the fact that growing up in two cultures makes it all the more difficult to sift through the often conflicting expectations our parents have for us and we have for ourselves. This has created the much talked about ‘identity crisis’ we have all had to swallow on some level or have seen a friend or relative experience, and is still a major cause for debate. Having spent numerous years battling to fill my own bowl with ingredients that only I wanted to include, the more I realized that the recipe couldn’t hold together without the flour born of my cultural heritage. Statements like: “I wasn’t born in India, so why should I live with those rules that I feel are limiting my potential?” were suddenly replaced by: “I’m reaching my full potential because I have the insight of being a product of two cultures.”

Where I am today: Conscious of the fact that I am a western born East Indian. I am identified. I am the real me.

Where I am headed: To a place where our children do not identify a crisis.

This journey is something that Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri weaves throughout The Namesake, which acclaimed producer/director Mira Nair has adapted into a feature length movie set to hit theatres in March and already receiving rave reviews on the film festival circuit. One of the film’s central characters, Gogol Ganguli, is played by actor Kal Penn who Open Chests with me on pg. 80 about the movie and being an actor in Hollywood.

Another Milestone

This is a special issue – the 4th anniversary issue of North America’s number one fashion, lifestyle and entertainment magazine for today’s South Asian, and for all of you who are not South Asian, but love everything that is!

This milestone is extra meaningful to me because it is the one issue that reminds me of how far we’ve come, and it gives me an excuse to acknowledge all who have been along for the ride so far:

My dedicated ANOKHI Dream Team which comprises all of the original members: Harj, Gerald, Pamela, Monika, Shivani and Ajay. Jayani, who has been with us for a couple of years now, and newcomer Sasha, who came on board last issue;
Our expert columnists Alia, Monica, Neera, Nitin, Rebecca and Sanjay;
All of our writers, correspondents, photographers and production team members;
Our corporate and administrative support team;
Our partners and affiliates;
Our advertisers;
And especially our loyal readers and subscribers, without whom, ANOKHI would still be an unfulfilled dream.

Thank you all for sharing the oxygen!

Till next issue,

Be UNIQUE. Be ANOKHI.

Raj Girn
Founder & Publisher

STRIVE. THRIVE. IDENTIFY.

Raj Girn

Author

Raj Girn is an award-winning media personality, confidence coach, consultant and mentor. Bio: https://www.theopenchestconfidenceacademy.com/about/our-founder/ Testimonials: https://www.theopenchestconfidenceacademy.com/about/testimonials/