An Ode to Xennial Friendships

“An Ode to Xennial Friendships” is a tribute to a microgeneration that has navigated shifting identities, nostalgia, and globalization. From trunk calls, Y2K flip phones, and e-greeting cards to Facebook messaging and the allure of satellite television, this generation grew up in a world shaped by both tradition and rapid technological change. They moved between continents while balancing dual passport identities and dreams of meeting Shah Rukh Khan and Britney Spears.

As they sent remittances and built families, they also indulged in Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, designer bags, and American pop culture. The arrival of satellite television transformed living rooms across geographies, flooding screens with a unipolar world of entertainment. Yet, nostalgia for “traditions back home” lingered, woven between slow dial-up internet and Bollywood songs longing for an imagined pardes. Communication evolved beyond the era of two-minute trunk calls, allowing friendships, love, and longing to endure in digital permanence.

Blending South Asian material and pop culture with global influences, this work reflects on a generation shaped by fragmented modernities. Loosely inspired by the shadi wala haar (South Asian wedding garland), it reinterprets its celebratory function, inviting viewers to explore the desires of those still embedded in desi kitsch. A love letter and homage, An Ode to Xennial Friendships captures the in-between existence of a generation shaped by both tradition and transformation.