Fighting stereotypes one word at a time

BY STEPHANIE DALZELL

He’s embarrassed about the cliché, but Rudi Soman’s Indian parents wanted him to study medicine or law.
Despite being practising Hindus, the Somans sent their youngest son to a secondary Catholic school in Adelaide. Many of their friends’ children had graduated from the school to become doctors, or lawyers; and his parents thought the school might have had something to do with it.
But the school didn’t. Rudi failed his final year.
He left year 12 and travelled, before turning his attention to writing. It was a decision that eventually paid off, as Rudi gets set to launch Growing up Asian in Australia at the Sydney Writer’s Festival this week. His chapter contribution, ‘Crackers,’ a fictional piece based on truth, humorously recounts the methods his parents used to capture a wild mouse inhabiting their home when Rudi was a teenager.
‘The story is about how eccentric my parents were, and how for me growing up in Australia and feeling quite Australian, made their eccentricities even more magnified because of the cultural prism it came through,’ Rudi says.
Both of Rudi’s parents were born in Kerala, a tropical state in southwest India, which has a history of embracing cultural interaction.
‘Even though they’re immigrants, they came from a place where immigration isn’t new and I really love that about my background,’ Rudi says.
His father’s passion for communication contributed to Rudi’s love of writing.
‘It’s an ongoing obsession I’ve had,’ he says, as he recounts his transition from journalism-based work at SBS and the Weekend Australian, to creative writing.
‘I have always written stories, and a couple of years ago I decided to tackle it. I did a PhD and wrote my novel.’
His debut novel, Brother Nation, explores how little race and culture are integrated with crime. The idea stems partially from Rudi’s first-hand experiences growing up as an Asian in Australia, which he describes as varied. While he rarely had problems, with nearly all his friends being white Australians, he did experience some trouble, including violent attacks.
‘Growing up in Adelaide I had run-ins with skin heads a couple of times. There are people that are actively racist.
‘But that might have been symptomatic of the places I went to, like the pubs,’ he adds with a laugh.
Now Rudi is living in Sydney’s trendy suburb of Chippendale, home to the latte-sipping, vintage-shopping crowd that are inspiration to hundreds of writers.
‘I love the character of this suburb, like somebody forgot to chop down the trees,’ he says.
Rudi is currently working on his new novel, of which ‘Crackers’ is a chapter. He submitted it into publishing company Black Inc after seeing a call for personal narratives of growing up Asian-Australian that were not a social commentary, but rather shed light on the usual stereotypes.
Growing up Asian in Australia is compiled by award-winning author Alice Pung, and details what it is really like to grow up Asian, and Australian.
‘They’ve produced a beautiful book, I’m honoured to be a part of it.’
Growing up Asian in Australia will be on sale from June 2, 2008.