![]() This was when I began giving myself permission to point my toes and learn to stand out.Īt the start of 2023, after busting my hip-hop moves at a Sydney dance studio, I heard a classical rendition of one of the ballads from the Game of Thrones soundtrack coming from an adjacent studio. In fact, the more I “blend in”, the more I stand to lose my individuality. But over the years, I’ve realised one thing – no amount of flat whites should dilute my Indianness. ![]() For some of us, this means doing violence to the word “afternoon” until it becomes “arvo” for others it involves replacing a morning chai with a flat white. ![]() This isn’t a story about blending in at all, but learning how to graciously stick outĮvery immigrant has, at some point, tried to blend into the Australian culture. For one thing, I’d packed my pressure cooker and some spices in that suitcase – leaving it wasn’t an option. But I couldn’t just leave my suitcase full of Indianness at Sydney airport’s baggage carousel. I moved from Mumbai to Australia in 2018, eager to embrace a new way of living. Truth be told, this isn’t a story about blending in at all, but learning how to graciously stick out. Nor is it a story about “finding community” in my new home in Sydney. This isn’t a story of a kid who grew up secretly watching ballet, wanting to feature in the next production of The Nutcracker. With one hand on the barre and my feet in the first position, I was ready to prove past-me wrong.īefore you start imagining what this story might be about, let me tell you what it isn’t. “Isn’t this a little… pretentious?”īut there I was: a 32-year-old brown man learning ballet. “Look at him,” I could hear past-me scoff. Earlier this year, I took on a new hobby that my younger self would’ve found strange. ![]()
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