Fancy a curry?

I am an Asian girl, so that must mean that when I go home, I immediately get changed into a Punjabi suit and step into the kitchen to whip up a spicy curry, as I’m apparently a culinary expert at cooking curry. Right? Actually….No.

It’s quite surprising that some people still have these narrow-minded notions. I was faced with explaining my ethnicity at work recently through a string of some ridiculously naive questions by an elderly English woman. (A bit like a Little Britain character.)

“So where are you from? Where are your parents from? When you go home do you wear a suit? Do you visit your family in India?”

Left completely astounded, my response to those questions were, “Well I’m from here, (Wolverhampton actually!) I hardly ever wear Indian attire, well, only at parties, and all my family are in the UK, I have no family in India.” I added, “I’ve been to Spain more times than I’ve been to India.” To which she seemed slightly confused because I am pretty sure that I threw her perceptions off course.
I was overcome with a feeling of amusement and shock. I wasn’t offended but I did feel slightly uncomfortable. These questions weren’t asked maliciously, but innocently which made me wonder how many other people think like this and think its perfectly normal to do so.

From my own observations, there is still an element of stereotypical values in the media. The Asian shopkeeper and the overly-religious family etc. We’re not all the same. I am very proud of my identity and of my British Asian roots; however it does get annoying that people can ask such ignorant and slightly amusing questions.

Right…I’m off for a curry now.