Ever wonder when seeing all the different faces here whether they’re all from the same place? Well, I suppose I ‘look Indian’ but I actually come from a beautiful multicultural country called Malaysia.

Being a Malaysian, I grew up around a host of different people; we all enjoy a variety of cuisine, share similar interests and we love meeting people of different culture or continents. Sometimes that connecting with different nationalities even leads to marriage.

So it comes as a big surprise to me that people here often question why I ‘look Indian’ when I’m not actually from India. People pester me to know my family’s roots and pry where I actually come from – they even insist that maybe my parents or grandparents were from India. I often wonder why people can’t just accept that it is not necessary for everyone to come from a root country to begin with.

I have been born and brought up as a Malaysian alongside my parents, grandparents, friends and family. So I am truly proud of my Malaysian roots and I realise that I am not alone in this. My other Malaysian friends who ‘look Chinese’ or ‘look Malay’ also face a similar predicament when asked where they come from. To an outsider he or she may not know that we are all Malaysians as we look different in terms of features. So we face an uphill task here in the UAE explaining where we come from and how we embrace each other’s culture well.

I am still surprised with the way some people look shocked when I tell them how much I enjoy an occasional Chinese meal and that I don’t include curry in every dish I eat. This is where I look forward to a breath of fresh air when I meet my fellow people as I can be myself, there is nothing to explain and no barriers set.

I simply wish that instead of prying as to where one’s roots are from, people could learn to sit back and enjoy that person’s company and learn more about their culture and country, especially when living in such a culturally diverse country such as the UAE.

Priya Manikam