Text 1 – The text is an excerpt from a blog written by the author Ritu Bhasin sharing her

experience of having an ethnic identity crisis, when she moved to Canada with her parents.
Growing Up Confused
I grew up in a household run by my Punjabi parents, who immigrated from India in the early
1970s. While my siblings and I were born in a very multicultural neighborhood, when I was
eleven, my parents moved us to what I jokingly refer to as the “whitest neighborhood they could
find." They could have moved us to where most of their Punjabi friends lived, but they believed
that moving to a White neighborhood would benefit us by teaching us to shift cultural codes,
giving us access to more powerful networks, and providing us with a better education.

They weren’t wrong about the benefits, but this also meant growing up around mostly White kids
as one of the only Brown kids in my school. I was immersed in White culture at school and at
play, and I also experienced extensive racist bullying. Both of these experiences were very
challenging. My ethno-cultural differences were vilified—the direct and indirect message was
that being Brown was “bad.” So I learned to mask and change aspects of my identity that
attracted racism.

I constantly felt like a “loser” and desperately wanted to fit in with my White peers. I would beg
my parents to allow me to do the things that my White peers were doing, like going on
sleepovers, staying out late, and dating boys. But my parents, who themselves were still
adjusting to life as new Canadians, struggled with how to raise us and how much autonomy to
give us. In fact, they oscillated between moments of being relaxed and hip (“Have all your
friends over anytime you want!”) and being excruciatingly strict.

I also received mixed messages about when it was okay to act "Canadian” versus when I had to
adhere to Punjabi ways of behaving. For example, as a kid I was (and still am, proudly!) loud,
boisterous, extroverted, and feisty. I was rewarded for this behaviour at school and with my
peers. But this behaviour at home attracted all kinds of negative discipline even thought it was,
in part, the reason I was excelling academically at school. To say that I was culturally confused
would be an understatement. I eventually found myself railing against Punjabi culture (for
example, I deliberately avoided making friends with other Indian kids). I didn’t want to be
Punjabi and didn’t see myself as such.

The moments when I felt the best about who I was happened when I was surrounded by friends
from other recent immigrant communities, other kids of color in particular (mostly West Indian
kids). I felt connected to them because they too were experiencing what I was going through,
and there was a similar spirit to Punjabi culture of family-centeredness, community, spirituality,
music, and food. But I knew I was just a guest in those communities no matter how much I was
drawn to them.

All of this to say that starting from a young age, I felt like an outsider. And this feeling stayed
with me throughout my twenties, and even into my thirties. Thankfully, after many years, I’ve
developed a different approach to how I view belonging, which has helped me to feel more
grounded in how I self-identify. I’ve learned that belonging doesn’t have to be viewed in a binary
way — and that for most of us, an “I’m either X or Y” way of thinking simply won’t work.

I know now that I don't have to identify as 100% Canadian, 100% Punjabi, or 100% anything —
it’s ok to be a mishmash. And, in fact, being a mishmash of cultural identities is beautiful. At the
end of the day, choosing the aspects of the cultures that I want to embody and that work for me
is how I find my belonging. Mostly, I identify as a woman of color, because the impact of my
gender and racial identity has been instrumental in shaping who I am.
Racism: the speaker has continuously mentioned that in her new school she faced extensive racist bullying due to the fact that she was a Punjabi in
a white dominant school, which caused her to develop a hatred against her own culture due to factors such as peer pressure and being a minority.
Behavioral Issues: It was evident that the speaker was torn apart on wether her behavior should reflect on the Canadian or her ethnic Panjabi way, as
Q 1.1 either can look abnormal in the perspective of the other.
Identify two incidents mentioned by the speaker that imply that adjusting to the new culture was
highly challenging. A-2

Q 1.2
Comment on why the speaker tried to turn away from her own traditional culture –Punjabi Culture.
A-3

Text 2

The following video is an award-winning short film ‘Identity’ which is written and directed by K.J
Adames.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikGVWEvUzNM

Q 1.3
Analyse the use of mask in the video, and justify its relevance to the story. A- 2

Q 1.4
Through your understanding of the video examine the symbolism of the pawn in the chess set to the
situation faced by the protagonist. A- 3

Q 1.5
Acceptance of one’s own identity leads to overcoming social barriers - Compare and Contrast how
do the speaker and the artist convey the message through the given two texts. Provide evidence
from both texts to support your answer. A-10 B-10