SepiaMutiny

This is why I started blogging.

Four months ago -- nearly five -- when I started planning my trip to India, I began looking on the magical internet for information that would help me understand the trip. I found a handful of websites, some of which, if you've found this blog through your interest in travel/tourism, you will definitely be familiar with. But they were all... well, they all approached the thing from the tourist's point of view: how to avoid "Delhi belly," how to deal with the heat, how to avoid getting harassed on the street, how to avoid getting eaten by Bengal tigers. And, of course, where to find "real silk saris only $8 USD!!!!"

Well, fine. I'd rather not get heatstroke, and if I don't leave Hyderabad with a real silk sari I will be sorely disappointed. But... these websites were not what I was looking for. I quickly grew tired of learning information on how to be a tourist. I wanted information on what India was really about -- not shopping tips and health warnings -- and what was actually going on within the country and the people.

Enter SepiaMutiny. It's a blog primarily run by American bloggers, but deals with information pertaining to both the American and Indian desi communities. I found it, starting with this post, and was instantly hooked. Here was where they kept the good stuff -- and stuff I had never thought of, never considered, but now am beginning to understand.

After four-odd months of lurking, I started commenting. But it seemed a little off. Many of the posts dealt with the reality of being desi and being "brown" in contemporary society, and, as I was neither, it felt strange for me to contribute. So I thought "this is a good place for me to watch and learn, but perhaps not a good place for me to play."

And thus I started my own blog, where I can puzzle out all the things I need to puzzle out before I get on the plane for Hyderabad (technically St. Louis-Frankfurt-Hyderabad).

But... if you're already here... click on over to SepiaMutiny. They know what they're talking about a lot more than I do.