Seen and Heard: How Singapore's Desi Community Is Claiming Space in Culture and Faith
Culture and faith are the twin pillars of Desi identity, and two compelling stories this week show just how fiercely those pillars are being defended — in the most unexpected places. Singapore's South Asian community will find both resonance and inspiration in these global narratives.
👑 South Asian Drag Queens Step Out of the Shadows
A scholar of queer South Asian nightlife and performance raises pointed questions about why South Asian drag queens have been largely absent from mainstream platforms, including the long-running television competition RuPaul's Drag Race across its first nine seasons. The piece identifies several intersecting barriers: South Asian cultural references and fashion aesthetics are not always legible to mainstream Western audiences, some performers lack permanent residency in the countries where major shows are filmed, and community pressures around respectability and visibility keep others from pursuing public performance careers. Many South Asian drag artists perform at house parties or community events rather than in commercial venues, making their work invisible to broader audiences and industry gatekeepers. The article argues that recognising and celebrating South Asian queer performance is itself an act of cultural reclamation and resistance against erasure. [7]
🎧 The True Crime Podcasts Bringing South Asian Stories to the Fore
A roundup from Homegrown highlights a growing wave of South Asian true crime podcasts that are drawing listeners into overlooked or underreported stories from across the subcontinent and its diaspora. The genre has surged in popularity globally, and South Asian creators are now staking their claim with productions that speak directly to their communities' histories, anxieties and curiosities. One featured story is the chilling account of Auto Shankar, a notorious figure from India's criminal past whose case has been compared to some of history's most infamous serial offenders. For Singapore's Desi listeners, these podcasts offer both gripping entertainment and a deeper engagement with the cultural narratives that shape South Asian identity beyond Bollywood and cuisine. [8]
🛕 One Man's Mission to Save Yemen's Last Hindu Temple
In the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, a Muslim caretaker named Ahmed Abdul Jalil has spent nearly three decades guarding the Shree Hinglaj Mataji Mandir, a Hindu temple built more than 160 years ago in a cave at the foot of a volcanic mountain in the historic district of Crater. The temple was once the largest among eleven Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras in the city, bearing a name linked to a sacred site in present-day Balochistan, Pakistan, revered by both Hindus and Muslims. Over the years it has survived looters, militant incursions and attempts by land-grabbers to seize the property, with Jalil standing as its sole consistent protector. His story is a poignant testament to interfaith guardianship and the fragile survival of South Asian heritage in a region where that community has long since departed. [10]
Sources: [7] intomore.com · [8] homegrown.co.in · [10] New Lines Magazine