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Who are the hottest girls in the world? Our Desi Girls !
Diwali season is around the corner and as we know, every Desi girl is getting their wardrobe ready! Sparkle, heels, colours and endless light! Crown the Brown decided to find out what it means to be a Desi girl. Western world traits have taken over in many ways but are our girls still traditional? I guess we had the privilege of finding out! Here’s what many of our girls had to say:
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Sonia
“I’m Indo-Guyanese, so I can’t say that I completely relate to South Asian communities. We are often left out of Desi narratives and that’s okay. I understand that there are cultural discrepancies. So to me, being Desi means writing my own narrative. It means fitting in with both Guyanese and South Asian people. Doing my best to excel in America as a clinical psychologist. Competition is high in this field. Desi parents stigmatize mental illness, let alone treatment. But Desi isn’t just about facing double standards, social pressure and filial piety or collectivist social system It’s the way Desi people write their own stories and face their own problems. To still stand strong.”
“It’s the way we represent ourselves in a society that consistently misrepresents our community. Being Desi doesn’t mean dressing or acting in a certain way. You can be vocal about issues within our community. You can stun people in shiny gold jhumkas and an intricate sari, but can also wear a t-shirt and jeans with tousled hair and still be just as Desi. Being Desi to me means having Desi blood and building your own identity. Especially in a world that tends to group Desi people in the same schema.”
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Roanna Moodley
“Well I think everything about being Desi is awesome. Raised to be powerful women and handle our en-devours with class and dignity. We are taught to be humble, clean, cook, but are also well-educated. The best moms, wives, daughters and sisters. We are the epitome of a powerful, culturally centered leader. Respectful and respected in return. Best skin tone, hair and features yet never boastful about it. Desi girls are caring towards the elderly and similarly, we can do anything! I mean, we survived over 150 years in South Africa. Look at the powerful men and women we have raised and given birth to.”
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Derusha Naidoo
“Being a Desi girl means embracing my beautiful Indian culture. From the exquisite clothing to the delicious Indian cuisine and colourful stories told by my elders. But it also means that I carry with me the realities of the struggle that my people have lived through. I carry this with pride.”
“I get to make sweetmeats the way mom makes them and the way my granny made them, from recipes passed down for generations. It means that I understand the sort of jokes that only a Desi girl would. Also means that I get to push the boundaries on limitations that Desi girls before me were subject to. In fact I consider it my duty.”
“For me, personally, being a Desi girl is about embracing my femininity but also my strength and resilience. Just like the lotus flower that rises out of the muddy water to emerge incredibly beautiful.”
“Being a Desi girl means I can be sassy but humble. I think all Indian women have a certain level of sass (haha).”
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Amritha Shakti
“Being a Desi girl means growing up with access to one of the most rich, complex and beautiful cultures in the world. I love everything about being South Asian. From the brown in my skin to our food to our Arts, philosophy and deep spiritual past. Everything about me has some link to my Desi culture and for that I am eternally grateful.”
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Sonali Premlal
“I am a proud Desi girl. I got to learn so much about love, respect, sensuality, wisdom, family and spirituality through pandits teaching and my parents. Being a Hindu means so much more than praying and believing in the Supreme Lord. It means we get to share our colourful traditional outfits, our tasty Indian food, vibrant music and elaborate celebrations with the rest of the world. This is just a small portion that I’m mentioning. Hinduism goes way more in depth. It is really unique and I am truly blessed to be a Hindu. A culture put together to make up my identity.”
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Riashri Moodley
“Being a tamilian that was introduced to the Bollywood culture and dance from a young age. Created 2 sides for me which I am in every aspect. Being a Desi girl allows me to express myself through song, dance and vibrant colourful outfits. It’s a culture like no other and something I am proud of in every way!”
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Thishana Govender
“I spent the majority of my life rejecting my cultural identity, the colour of my skin and wearing traditional clothes. Until I moved provinces for University and missed home so badly that I found comfort in listening to Bhajans and joining in prayer services. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment but I had started to view my “indianness” with fresh eyes. I engaged so much more with every aspect of it. The rituals, customs, food, clothing and I was so proud to talk to my friends of other races about my culture. Our struggles in this country (South Africa) as indentured laborers and the diversity in the Indian community. Prayers no longer seemed like a chore that was being forced upon me by my mother. It was something I wholeheartedly wanted to engage in and for me that was a major epiphany.”
“Being Desi means that we as a people are strong, steadfast, determined, adaptable and that’s how we’ve been able to thrive through adversity in this country and make it home. We are beautiful, diverse- so many rich skin tones, languages, customs, outfits, dances. We are big on family, celebrations and romantic at heart (Bollywood). Finally, we are the reason the world has that much more flavour from way back when we were colonized for it!”
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Rohini Bisaal
“A Desi girl is a proud female woman who prides herself within the realm of her Desi culture and embraces her true ethnicity with an authentic nature.”
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Sanjana Bhakta
“To me, being a Desi girl means knowing my roots. It means knowing where I came from and how that defines who I am. It means embracing the aspects of my culture I love and working to change the cultural norms and stigmas that I don’t love.”
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Tashveera Jagganath
“Being a Desi girl makes me feel unique. Desi girls have a distinct facial structure that gives us that soft eyes and naturally glowing skin. It also means having unlimited styles and textures of eastern wear in my wardrobe. Being able to practice meat free Monday and Tuesday (for most of my life), chanting once a week but feeling blessed each and every single day I awake. I love that my hardest decision to make, when it comes to wearing my eastern clothing- is deciding on what bangles to go with the outfit. I love being a Desi girl!”
Punita Sala
“To be a Desi girl means I have a responsibility to walk the road less traveled and shine the light so bright on that path for others to find their way home-themselves. It means I am going to walk tall and roar what’s right and not just try to be safe. To be a Desi girl today means I love and accept myself fully. Brown skin and all and empower others to stay inspired and thrive high daily.”
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Our Desi Girls are Brown and Proud! In the words of Priyanka Chopra, ” Wherever I go, everyone’s eyes follow me. If I stop for a second someplace, all the cold breaths of people stop. The look in everyone’s eyes proves that they haven’t seen a girl like me even in their dreams. A girl like me… A DESI GIRL!” We certainly are show stoppers and one of a kind!
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