• An Introduction
• Artist's Statement
• Events
• Gallery
• South Asian Youth in Creative Expression

The only towel I wear goes around my waist. The only dot on my head is splattered paint from clumsy hands. I am not a terrorist and I do not pray five times a day.

Hell, I haven't prayed five times in my life, even though my mother insists that there is still time for Jesus to save me. But you see, my father told me early on, that religion was created by the powerful to control the weak, so I could sleep peacefully in church.

I've never ridden a camel, but I almost rode an elephant once, but I got scared....I would totally ride a camel though or even an elephant for that matter.

I've never driven a cab, but I would cause i'm a traveling man. I almost worked at a seven eleven when I was 15, but i figured the ice cream business was more appropriate for my unique interpersonal skills.

(little secret) I was actually just scared that people would see me leave work on my magic carpet.

Yes, I do eat curry and yes I do eat it with my fingers and you will too if you come over. Yes, I do shower. In fact, I shower at least 2 to 3 times a day, which my friends attribute to my obsessive compulsiveness. But that's a myth. Shit, just look at my pants.

The Lord Ganesh has smiled on me many times, but rest assured that I am aware that he is an elephant and I am aware that he is an idol. So no, I am not a pagan. But rest assured you probably are, beacause men on crosses are made out of the same porcelain as little elephant men.

Speaking of porcelain...every relationship I've ever had has been cross-cultural. I've loved a cracker and I've loved a slant-eye. The cracker well, she's now in love with another cracker and the slant eye (God (and any good American) knows they are not to be trusted) well, she's probably dating an orthopedic surgeon in training, with a cocaine addiction and a Phi Beta Epsilon sweatshirt. Alright, maybe I'm being a little harsh, but here's a little secret...

(little secret) I once dreamed of having little yellowish-brown slant-eyed kids. Their mother would teach them to eat with their fingers and I would teach them to eat with chopsticks.

But that dream is fading along with others, and somewhere along the line I stopped parking my magic carpet two blocks away from work and started parking in the manager's spot.

But they haven't faded completely, because I still show my paintings to my mother and father, looking for a glimmer of understanding. It is harder to bridge this gap than you would think.

And somewhere far in the back of my mind, I still hold on to my chopstick-finger fantasy.

As you can see, I am the quintessential dejected and at times completely pathetic artist type....I don't know how much of an artist I am, but I sure love making things that make people laugh, cry or curse...it helps me laugh about the towel on my head that only I can't seem to see.

And I love walking down the street and looking at fresh drippy mop tags, crisp throwies and the endless layers of wheatpasted propaganda and knowing that other people have walked here, maybe crying or laughing like I have so many times before.

My advice: Always look left and right as well as forward and behind when walking. Pay attention to the people, sidewalks, cigarette butts and the ridiculous amounts of fossilized chewing gum on your path. While these objects may seem insignificant, they are not.....and chances are you're missing the point.