Funny, but I kinda think Raj is cute too.

I didnt notice a Desi on the apprentice. Is he half Desi ? Which one is he ?
Btw I thought the Desi on the ESPN show was way cool too.

Ok, I checked. Raj Bhakta’s mom is Irish. That explains his caucasoid features. His dad is an Indian immigrant. I think most people who watch this show probably think that Raj is Italian or from somewhere in Southern Europe.

MD, I was very undecided about him when I first saw him in his bright red pants and a bow tie but he has won me over now. I think the boy has brains!

Mujahid, I frequent some Apprentice forums where every one knows Raj is an Indian-American (in part). I find it really cool that I can finally root for some one solely because of the shared heritage :)

I haven’t watched the ESPN show - what time is it on? It sure sounds interesting.

His mixed heritage has not been mentioned on the show, although he did correct one guy who pronounced his name “Rog” for Roger, and he said, “No, it’s Raj” And he did introduce himself in Episode 1 to the receptionist as Raj Bhakta. It is mentioned on the Yahoo site for The Apprentice, and he mentions it on his own personal website. But for a guy who’s half Indian and half Irish, he behaves pretty much like a WASP.

Rhona Mitra, the comely young actress on Boston Legal, is also of mixed parentage. Her dad is a Bengali from Calcutta, while her mom is Irish.

I dont know if the Americans of non South Asian ancestry can pronouce the ‘bh’ in Bhakta. They pronounce the ‘bh’ as ‘b’.
Regarding Rhona Mitra, whats up with all the desi men marrying Irish women. Also why is that the skin tone of Bengalis from India is lighter than the Bangladeshis. Ofcourse I am speaking from anecdotal evidence. Arnt both the Indian Bengalis and the Bangladeshis of the same ethnicity.
Shanti, the Desi guy sadly got booted out in the ESPN show called Dreamjob.

KXB, I like Raj just because he behaves so different from what you would expect of him. He could be obnoxious if he went overboard with it but right now he is carrying himself pretty well.

Al,

Speaking from anecodtal evidence as well, the reason Hindu Bengalis may appear lighter than Muslim Bengalis may be that when Bengal came under Muslim rule, the lower castes (darker skinned) were the first to convert. Higher caste Hindus would have less reason to convert, since they did not want to give up any advantages that their caste afforded them.

And it’s not just an Indian-Irish combo, there’s Indian-Italian (the Gandhi family), Indian-Polish (Bollywood actress/model Lisa Ray). In my own social setting, I would say slightly more Indian women have non-Indian partners than Indian men having non-Indian partners. But I do know an Indian guy here in Chicago who married an Irish-American woman.

What I find interesting is the reaction of different populations. As far as inter-ethnic couples are concerned, from my point of view, it seems that the Indian community is a bit more accepting of an Indian guy with a non-Indian wife, while the general American population seems more accepting of Indian wife-non Indian husband.

KXB,
You raise a very interesting issue. The Americans are way more willing to accept an asian woman with a white husband than a white woman with an asian husband. That is one of the reasons why most of the east asian couples consist of white husbands and asian wives.
Indians on the other hand have a much higher rate of indian husbands and white wives than the east asians. Maybe this has to do with the emasculation of the east asian male in the popular culture. Maybe the Indian Males are perceived by the general populace as less ‘feminine’ than the more popular effiminated caricature of the East Asian male.
As for the Indian community being more acceptable of white wives, its probably because of the patriarchial belief of the Indians that the male is the head of the household and the family name is carried on by the son.
For example my female cousins who are married to Hindu Indian American and Spanish American get more hell than the hell I get for marrying a Germanic American. I guess the hell on my marriage is more from my wife’s family who now have to contend with non aryan grandchildren ;)

correction *acceptable - accepting

Mujahid, I would have watched the show if the desi guy weer still there…tough luck, I guess.

As for the interesting descussion about East Asian males vs. Indian guys, I think traditionally tall, “dark” and handsome has been a way of describing men who should be lusted after. I think also that Indian men look a lot more like Caucasians in featues than East Asian men do. I wonder if this is why there are more American women willing to marry Indian men. I think this is also probably the reason why there are a lot of American women dating Middle-Eastern men too, if you think about it.

The Desi guy on ESPN’s Dream Job (winner gets to be anchor of Sportscenter for one year) is still there. His name is Anish Shroff.
Its aired on Tuesdays 9pm Pacific Time — don’t know whether its the same time for the folks out east. They also repeat it a couple of times during the week.

Thanks, Hari - I will check it out. I wonder if he is related to Jackie Shroff :tongue3:

“I think traditionally tall, “dark” and handsome has been a way of describing men who should be lusted after. ” I can safely say that I have not been lusted after for quite some time.;)

Don’t discount economic status - an Indian doctor will draw far more female attention than an Indian cab-driver.

KXB,
The economic status of East Asians is not much lower (if it all) than the economic status of Indians. So how come more Indian men are marrying white women than East Asian men marrying white women.

Here’s a link for stats on Inter Racial marriages in Asian Americans
http://www.asian-nation.org/interracial2.shtml

If I remember right even that Raj guy has an Irish mom. But tell me how did you know what his last name was?

Should I confess I lurk around in the Raj-specific forums on Apprentice messageboards? Naah!

Shanti,

As long as you don’t lurk around his house, you should be okay.

If only he lived in Dallas, KXB ;)

Oh, his mom is Irish. That explains it. I thought maybe he was anglo-indian or kashmiri (not knowing his last name).

Shanti, lurking around apprentice message boards!:tongue3:

PS. Can I host a mela in December? My work schedule should be better by that time.

How about the 3rd of December? Would that be good?

DEc 3 sounds fine.

Yea, the Desi guy - Anish on ESPN…he’s cute.

Rotflol! I read this great blog of a writer who lives near Raj in Philly. She says she’s in love with him and wants to know how small they make bowties (for their children!)

I have another suggestion as to why men are more inclined to marry non-native/non-indegenous women. [Men correct me if I am wrong…this is from a woman’s perspective].

(1) Men are more “turned on” by women they haven’t SEEN before or aren’t visually used to…moreso than women (all cultures) who seek comfort in the familiarity of their culture (all aspects: behavioral, visual etc).

And for women from (especially) Asian, African Contients, this also means they are less likely to break with the cultural expectations.

Also there is the testosterone that increases levels of aggressiveness, so if men want to marry a non-native women, they are more likely to go through with their plan. Besides, in several cultures it is considered “manly” to do what the heck ever u want regardless of what others think…though this is changing.

:beam: hey hi, you guys- does ANYONE know where Raj Peter Bhakta is now (2007)? does he receive fan mail? any info is good info! thanks my fellow DESI’S!!!:beam::nice:
karuna