The names of Indian cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi usually conjure images of clean-cut, chino-clad, young office workers. Step into an all-night cafe in one of India's new suburbs where Tom Friedman's so-called "zippies" hang out, and you will overhear conversations that will inevitably reveal one thing - in this vast and ancient country, the soul that sits behind every American-accented call center is as Indian as the Bollywood screensaver on every hi-tech worker's computer.
For all the hoopla in America about outsourcing services to India, India itself has been outsourcing a good measure of its entertainment services to America, much like the rest of the world. Yet, after decades of consuming, emulating and localizing American content, today's globalized urban Indians demonstrate an unshakable sense of identity. And it is in this context that American-born pop songstress Meetu Chilana makes a journey to the land of her ancestors to embrace all that her music embodies.
The recent iTunes release of her EP I am signifies the emergence of an ever-expanding area of intersection between American and Indian music markets, where boundaries between the two are not just blurred, they have virtually disappeared. The first thing that strikes you about this collection of songs is their eclectic quality. Then, as the voice starts to penetrate your senses, you realize that the experience of listening to Meetu Chilana's music is somewhat like a trans-continental flight - only in this one, you travel back and forth instantly and seamlessly.
The opening track Wake Up Stand Up speaks to the urban Indian hipster crowd, jumping effortlessly from one language to another - just like the zippies do themselves, whereas Come And Take It is an irresistible bhangra track that's already creating a flutter in the underground club circuit. However, it's the title track I Am that nails Meetu's perspective from the bridge between the two cultures she represents. Also included in the EP is Lost, the theme song for the upcoming movie Hiding Divya. Samrat Chakrabarti, producer and director of the song's award-winning music video and an accomplished musician-actor himself, is all praises for Meetu, especially her ability to effortlessly switch from one style of music to another.
Fred Croshal, former VP at Sony (one of the founders and creators of Celine Dion's career), who headed Maverick Records for Madonna, says about Meetu: "She is very cool!" It comes as no surprise then, that record companies in India are showing an active interest in wanting to develop her career in their region.
Meetu's music also seems to resonate with Bollywood. While Manisha Koirala and Lisa Ray give her a ringing endorsement, Darshan Zariwala (Om Shanti Om, Gandhi My Father) did an impromptu performance with her while in New York.
Meetu is fast rising in the ranks of other western musicians of Indian origin such as Talvin Singh, who says about her music: "I Iove the Hiding Divya song - it's so fresh and full of heart", and Rishi Rich: "I think Meetu is an extremely exciting artist and I'm looking forward to working with her". Meetu will feature on a new album from Indo-Canadian band Josh, who have worked with Nelly Furtado and Kanye West.
Ultimately, it's the fans whose enthusiasm and support is the real testament to Meetu's music. At a recent concert at Jacob Javits Center in New York, she put on a power-packed performance alongside Indian Idol 3 winner Prashant Tamang to thousands of ecstatic fans.
Meetu Chilana's journey to her parents' homeland will take her to a country that has been transformed since they left its shores. But when mp3 downloads of her music hit the zippy generation across India, outsourcing between India and America will have come full circle.