Classic Situation: You just left college and are sitting at home on a Saturday night reminiscing about the good old days when your social life was so vivacious, the weekend began on a Wednesday night. Unfortunately, the epoch of going to parties where the ladies aren’t old enough to have a driver’s liscence are obsolete, and the only event that looks to be remotely stimulating is waiting to see who the winner of American Idol is going to be. Your college friends are all in different parts of the country and going to one more family party and discussing the exact amount of spice to put in the “mattar paneer” with the aunties has dried up your interests. “The Scene” has compiled its top ten recommendations of ways to find desis after collegeóó
1) IACC- The Indian American Cultural Center is a resident to promoting local South Asian authors, artists, and musicians as well as providing a resource to other South Asian institutions.
2) Professional Organizations:Looking to network in the business/technology world, then TIE and NETIP are where some of the most successful South Asians of today make their contacts
3) Bhangra: Currently, it is officially mainstream South Asia’s most popular music. UCLA’s Bruin Bhangra Weekend is now an annual mecca for all Desis and is comparable to Woodstock of the 60s, while Ziba and Desicentral bring you UK’s hottest artists on a bimonthly basis
4) Clubs: You’ll be sure to find a massive amount of Indo-Americans at Highlands and Century Club in Los Angeles on the weekends; while in the Bay Area, try Starlight Room on a Wednesday night or Club Bas and Ruby Sky on Saturday Nights.
5) Chaat and Coffee- For individual who loathes tense environments, and would prefer to sip on coffee and eat chaat with friends, there are no better places than Vicks Chaat House in Berkeley, Starbucks in Fremont, and Town Center in Cerritos
6) Lounges: Sometimes club music is a bit too loud and desis prefer a more social, mingling, ambiance; Miyagi’s on Sunset and the Bubble Lounge are immaculate selections.
7) Cultural Events: – Whether the fettish is Arjun Rampal or Aishwariya Rai, the 21+ crowd is nonetheless still a fan of the world’s number one film Industry, Bollywood. In addition, traces of your university’s alumni can be discerned congregating at annual Culture Shows taking place in Spring and making the circular “ferreh” (rounds) at Independence Day Melas in the hunt for find old friends or in a quest to make new ones.
8) Asian Underground Parties- The Desisomething’s new genre of trendy music is officially Asian Underground. Discover artists such as Karsh Kale and Cheb-i-sabbah, who are breaking waves for Indian Americans by charming mainstream Americans as well as Indians. However, the style of music isn’t music to everyone’s ears.
9) Raas/Garbas- “A Guju’s Paradise” – ATTN: Dance-a-holics and Raas lovers, don’t miss Cal Poly’s and Hayward’s Raas Garbas during the month of Navratri;
10) Social Mixers: For the 23+ Single crowd that’s on an expedition to associate with desis, MeraPyar has monthly events which include 5 minute speed dating and weekend mixers to get to know more individuals in your vicinity.
Rahul Khanna earned a BA in Economics from UCLA and is the founder of Rahul Khanna Promotions