Notes on Identity, Gharbzadegi, and the Azizam Effect
Yesterday, a Persian friend casually asked me if I was Sri Lankan. I wasn’t offended. Startled, yes — but not offended. I take pride in being Desi. And truthfully, there isn’t a stark difference between many South Asian and Persian phenotypes at the human level. But the interaction stayed with me.
Because while I can understand a Scandinavian confusing Indians and Iranians — my Danish friend, for example, couldn’t reliably tell them apart — it hits differently when Persians, especially non-Muslim, Westernised Persians, make the same mistake.
Immediately, another half-Indian, half-Iranian friend interjected:
“Zach doesn’t look Sri Lankan at all.”
For what it’s worth, when I was in Colombo over New Year’s, I fell in love with Sri Lanka — the island, the people, the everything. Also the phenotype range in Sri Lanka is extensive since there is so Dutch, Portuguese & Moorish ancestry in addition to the native ones. Some Sri Lankans even thought I was Sri Lankan myself. Truly, it is Serendib.