If Indian then IT...

I was at a Kellogg networking session interacting with classmates, alumni and friends when one of my Indian classmates came over. After the initial ice-breaker (Chicago weather, usually), he immediately asked "I assume you are in IT?".

Though not probabilistically a bad assumption to make, I felt it was socially inappropriate. In fact, I felt offended. I felt like screaming - "I am not your typical Indian guy!" While I didn't make an attempt to guess his field of work, I felt he was crossing his social limits. It is almost like asking a woman if she was pregnant!

So what is it with Indians and stereotypes?

I remember a grill house in Dallas that I used to frequent where the server would almost always ask me and my friends - "Veggie burger?". My friend would get annoyed at this and order a double angus burger just to demonstrate the invalidity of the waiter's assumption.

Another typical restaurant situation is for the waiter to assume that my drink for the night is "water, no ice". I might still ask for it, but the waiter has no business to order my drink for me. These days, I say - "water, lots of ice"

The list goes on.

The point is that everyone tries his/her best to demonstrate that he/she is different. That being the case, to make Indians, or for that matter anyone a stereotype, is a cardinal sin!