The burger in all of us

DUBAI: This is with reference to Omar Bilal Akhtar’s article “I am a burger — and proud of it” (June 13). The truth is there is a burger in everyone. In my mother who would be out of depth in the presence of her aunts who know more about religion, tradition etc. In my father who cannot speak any desi language to save his life. All of us have a desi-burger combination that is pretty unsettling. I have made my peace with it though. I love British comedy, American sitcoms and – hold your breath – Indian TV serials.

The point is each one of us has to make peace with our inner ‘burger’ and inner ‘desi’-ness and openly enjoy the paradoxes that arise. I just hope you don’t nurse a superiority complex in the face of someone who does not know Bertrand Russell. You have made a lot of value judgements in your article — I think a little bit of introspection is in order.

Published in the Express Tribune, June, 15^th, 2010.