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welcome to the nerk key

Friends, family, folks — welcome to The Nerk Key! 

I’ve always loved reading people’s blogs or newsletters — I find them so human in this world of algorithmic, robotic curation. Friends and colleagues of mine have been writing newsletters for much longer than I have, and I thought it was about time that I hop on the train. I have always considered myself a creative, and always wanted to start writing myself, but was either very lazy, anxious, depressed, or just overwhelmed about all the creative things I want to do in my life at some point. When I realized I liked writing personal statements a little more than the average person, I figured starting a newsletter might not be a bad idea. Here you’ll find things I ponder about, my inner ramblings, and maybe some jokes. Welcome. 

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For today’s letter, I’ll start off with a random thought — has anyone else ever made the mistake of listening to Arijit Singh on a plane, causing you to start tearing up and imagining your worst heartbreak while Arijit belts out the most beautiful lyrics in Hindi you’ve ever heard? I feel like my heart is being PULLED in a million different directions. The pain in his voice and the sound of the shehnai make me nostalgic for a life I never lived in India, but something I’ll nonetheless always be connected to through my heritage, parents, and ancestors. 

Another random thought: has anyone else been noticing the phenomenon that is these really amazing Indian restaurants blowing up in really big cities? Though restaurants are the business type with the lowest margins and return on investment, it is so interesting to me how so many cities across the world are characterized by a particular Indian restaurant that outshines the rest. In San Francisco, it’s Besharam, in LA, it’s Badmaash, in Portland, it’s Bollywood Stories, in New York City, it’s Baar Baar, and in Londin it’s Dishoom (among many more). These restaurants have it all — the food, the lively ambience, and something reminiscent enough to unlock a deep memory of home that you didn’t even know you had. When I went to New York for example, everyone was like “you have to go to Baar Baar,” so I did. Despite a pretty hefty price tag associated with the experience, I was not disappointed. The 2pm dance party with drunk uncles and aunties all around me fell nothing short of the family parties my mom, dad, younger sister, and I would go to on the weekends.

March and April were two big months for the South Asian diaspora, I feel like. Bridgerton season 2! I felt so seen watching Charithra Chandran’s Vogue beauty video — she mentioned regularly tweezing her unibrow and mustache hairs, starting therapy, and being okay with skin discoloration! Whew, so many relatable things in the span of 12 minutes, I was riding a high! It honestly felt like kind of a pinch me moment as a darker skinned Indian girl who rarely saw someone who looked like me in the media (including Bollywood) growing up. But why was she the first member of the South Asian diaspora I saw on there? Suspicious. It’s not like there are a billion plus of us scattered throughout the world…

It’s interesting that there was such a large, positive response to Bridgerton, when sometimes I do feel like we as a community are given scraps by the media, and told to be happy with them despite certain loopholes and things that didn’t add up. Like I had so many questions about the backstory — why were Kate and Edwina saying “didi,” “bon,” “appa,” and “amma” if they were from Bombay? Those are terms from 3 different Indian languages. And why was their last name “Sharma”? I’m not going to lie though, hearing someone say Didi, the name that my little sister has called me for the past 24 years, on such a huge platform, did make my heart skip a beat. I did tear up. I may have sniffled. And, of course, hearing the instrumental version of Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam was big. I personally missed the deep string pulls of the sitar — this rendition felt like it glossed over the deeper Indian tones and sounds in the original. That being said, I’ll still be listening to this song on repeat (side note: I kid you not, my computer just autocorrected K3G to Kabuki Kushi Kabuki Gam — now there’s an idea for a parody). 

After watching Bridgerton season 2, I realized the number of South Asian creatives I follow on social media, and I was pretty shocked (in a good way). I don’t think I could have even listed half of these people 10 years ago. Instagram is a blessing/curse (but more on that later), but it does expose you to a ton of people you’d otherwise never know about. Some folks to mention and shout-out (this is not exhaustive, there are so many more creatives I’m sure I have yet to find): 

• Aisha Rawji, Founder of Kynah — @aisharawji 

• Badal Patel, Creative Director & Designer — @bybadal

• Deepica, Founder of LiveTinted — @deepica

• Diipa Büller-Khosla, Founder of IndeWild — @diipakhosla

• Hasan Minhaj, Comedian and Host of the Patriot Act — @hasanminhaj 

• Maalvika Bhat, Host of Show Me How Good It Gets podcast — @showmehowgooditgetspodcast

• Raveena, Artist — @raveena_aurora

• Reva Bhatt, Creative & Casting Director + Stylist — @hybridhues

• Rowi Singh, Makeup Artist and Founder of Embellished by Rowi — @rowisingh

• Snigdha Sur, Founder of The Juggernaut — @snigdhasur

• Srishti Jain, Creator of Srishti’s Supper Club — @srishti.jpg

As someone who identifies as a South Asian creative, this growing list of creatives is really inspiring, and so are seeing their creations that range from shared dining experiences, jaw-dropping makeup looks, publications, or packaging design. Being a “creative” in today’s day and age is a weird thing. Like is this something I want to do to earn a living or is this something that gives me joy that I want to shield from the evil that is capitalism? That’s a question I’m still trying to answer, but alas, I digress. Seeing creatives with similar backgrounds and childhood stories as me has moved me to take my passion into my own hands, and use my voice to say all the things I thought no one wanted to hear: hence the start of The Nerk Key! I may be screaming into the void right now, and it’s definitely daunting putting something you’ve spent so much time and effort on out there for the consumption of others, but I’ve always enjoyed writing, curating, and making, so this is going to be the corner on the internet where I’ll start exploring them more. 

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My Monthlies

Listening To

• No Borders Spotify playlist 

• Unfair by Anik Khan 

Watching

• The Fame Game 

• Bridgerton

• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 

• The Home Edit

• Abbott Elementary 

• 83

• Turning Red 

Reading

• A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin

• The Guncle by Steven Rowley 

It would mean the world to me if you subscribed! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next one. 

💌