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There it is again.

That word.

The very same word that sent a multitude of inspirational shivers up and down your spine on November 4, 2008.

The very same word that allowed for our parents to breathe an enormous sigh of relief as they recall abandoning their homes, their security, and their families, to start all over again in another country carrying nothing except for the mere hope for a better life.

A deceivingly microscopic word that, in reality, bares the strength and the passion encompassed by our ancestors who dreamt of a day when, “people will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character,” said Dr. Martin Luther King.

Change. It’s here. Barack Hussein Obama — is finally here. Who said you can’t reach for the stars?

Obama not only made history, he perfected it when he became the first person from an ethnic background to ever earn the status of the President of The United States of America. Let’s think about that shall we?

A black man is now the President.

A man who proudly holds an African first name is now the President.

A man with a Muslim middle name is now the President of The United States of America. If that isn’t progress, I beg you to tell me, what is? If change does indeed equate to progress, then North America and the rest of the world have now surpassed progression, and have walked directly into a social and political revolution. (I say “walked” because it only took us over 200 years to get here…we, more or less, strolled.)

As the Presidential Election results were made official, my immediate reaction was a colossal sensation of happiness followed by an immediate reaction of, "Damn right, we can do this too."

Why not? Why shouldn’t I, or any of us for that matter, feel anything less than assured that we as South Asians can not only reach for — but actually obtain — the same success status as the President-Elect? After all, our community has befriended change since before you and I ever existed. Once upon a time our parents abandoned their homelands and arrived in a foreign country where they were greeted with nothing but change. This included a change in culture, language, food, school systems, family values and the list went on and on and on.

Many of our grandparents then followed suit. As adults, they left their desh behind them to follow their children to these new foreign lands. They walked into unfamiliar territory, and through self-sacrifice and the perpetual thought of better opportunities for future generations, they made a home away from home.

Further to the cause of change and a better future, our parents began working away in oh-so-glamorous first jobs such as gas station attendants and janitors. While some had the immense privilege of standing on their feet for 12 hours a day, others engaged in demanding physical labour. Why? For us. For change.

And it worked.

As second generation South Asians, we have had the privilege of witnessing what I like to call, the Occupation Revolution, within our own community. In fact, we are the Occupation Revolution. My friends, I’m proud to say we are no longer confined to the stereotypical notion that says South Asians can only be taxi drivers —although I’m proud to say, we’re pretty darn good at that too!

Our community moved up quite a few vocational notches to become information technology wizards, accountants, doctors, entrepreneurs, and even CEOs. We studied to achieve professional status after attending North American and European colleges, universities, and trade schools — all made possible by the phenomenon of change.

And then there was television.

Rewind to 1988. Hats off to Monika Deol.

A once Caucasian dominated North American broadcasting system transformed itself to ethnic representation with the entrance of this young Sikh VJ. And she didn’t just enter...she stayed a while. From 1988 to 1996 Deol’s ethnic face lit up Much Music’s (Canada’s “nation music station”) airwaves. Whether you liked her or not is irrelevant. She made change happen. Hosting and co-producing the immensely popular dance program, Electric Circus, she showed Toronto and Canada what it is to be dedicated, determined — and desi.

Since the 80s, we have been on a role witnessing one success story after another. Bharati Mukherjee, an Indian born American writer, achieved best-seller status with novels such as Jasmine (1989) and Desirable Daughters (2002). Deepa Mehta, the Oscar nominated Indian born Canadian film director and screenwriter, showed off her creative and controversial South Asian talent in the film industry proving that our films can and do extend beyond Bollywood. Jatinder Verma, founder of Tara Arts, is now known as a pioneer for South Asian theatre in Britain.

Bollywood dazzled Hollywood when Aishwarya Rai’s flawless face not only appeared on the cover of Time magazine, but they also named her as one of the world’s “100 Most Influential People.” The only Bollywood beauty to ever really break into the celluloid Fort Knox that is Hollywood, Rai appeared on Oprah and on The Late Show with David Letterman.

And that’s not all: Deepak Chopra, Russell Peters, Lisa Ray – and I could go on – but I think you get my point.

So, after all that, who says we can’t be President or Prime Minister? After achieving ample success in versatile industries ranging from entertainment to business to medicine, what’s next?

In the 21st century, we have political success in the making. Our South Asian pride pot has evolved with the first South Asian Governor in 2007, Bobby Jindal. As the first non-white Louisiana Governor since Reconstruction in the 1870s, Jindal is what Sunday Times of India calls, “an example of a resurgent India, a flourishing diaspora, and indeed someone who has put India firmly on the global map.”

Jindal, a living and breathing case in point of political South Asian success, has definitely earned his bragging rights. His achievements range from: a Rhodes Scholar, a consultant to corporate CEOs, and the head of Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals. Now he is the rising star of the Republican Party, with his name connected to the much speculated short list of presidential candidate John McCain’s Vice President hopefuls. Impressed? Absolutely. Shocked? Definitely not.

Why should any of us be shocked by South Asian political success when Sonal Shah, former vice president of Global Sachs and Co., has recently been named as one of President Barack Obama’s 15-member official transition board? Shah, a member of Google.org on the Global development team, is repeatedly referred to as a ‘change leader’ and brings extensive political experience to Obama’s ‘change table.’

This co-founder of Indiacorps (a non profit organization that aims to provide one year fellowships for Americans of Indian descent to work in various development projects in India) is also accompanied by Preeta Bansal, a partner at the International law firm of Skadden Arps. Bansal will serve as a senior advisor in the Obama campaign.

This South Asian pride pot just keeps brewing!

Closer to home we have witnessed South Asian proprietors of change in the political arena such as Dr. Ruby Dhalla and Melissa Bhagat. “The perception in our community a long time ago was that our children must become one of three things: a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. Times have changed since then,” explains Dr. Ruby Dhalla, Liberal MP for Ontario’s Brampton-Springdale riding. Dhalla continues to explain the importance of taking an active interest in something and putting your all into it. “Whether that something is politics, the arts or your own business, do it because you know that you can and because today, we are fortunate enough to be presented with the opportunity to make anything that we want actually happen.” No stranger to making good things happen, Dhalla has won the seat for the Brampton-Springdale riding for the third consecutive election.

Melissa Bhagat, yet another example of the South Asian change phenomenon, is a former television host for Canada’s OMNI Television and has now dived into the world of Canadian Conservative politics. “We always say that our parents came here to provide us with a world of opportunity, but we have to do more than just say it. We have to actually believe it”, says Bhagat. “Today we have opportunities that we didn’t have 20 or 30 years ago.” She’s definitely got a point there.

As I reminisce back to my childhood years, I am immediately reminded of the Barbie doll syndrome. I recall wondering why it was that every doll looked more like my next door neighbour than like me. I didn’t have blonde hair, I didn’t have blue eyes, and no one in my family ever went up north to the cottage.

The Barbie doll phenomenon can be applied to the world of politics. Bhagat recalls growing up and watching Hazel McCallion (Mayor of Mississauga, Ontario) on television. “I remember thinking that I wanted to be a politician. I adored McCallion but can’t say I was ever exposed to many South Asian political role models.” Today, the mere presence of figures such as Dhalla, Bhagat, Jindal, Shah and Bansal solidifies the South Asian change phenomenon and provides inspiration to our young that our community can indeed break into politics. This is the very same inspiration that perhaps our 30-somethings were unfortunately lacking.

On occasion, a few friends and I actually wish that we were teenagers again simply because the abundance of South Asian role models and the opportunities that have arisen for that generation is phenomenal. Then again, who says it’s too late? After all, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

BY: JESSICA R. GERA / PUBLISHED 6TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 2009