The Ten-Year-Long Catfish: The Story of Kirat and Bobby
Words by Ronita Choudhuri-Wade
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The Ten-Year-Long Catfish: The story of Kirat and Bobby
This is a tale about deception. Wait, no. That isn’t really true. Although it is, but also not just about that.
Okay how about: this is a tale about intimacy. That covers it. Well actually, connection is the better word. Fine, let’s try: this is a tale about connection. And the dark alleys the search for it can take someone, fracturing a life in the process.
The case of Kirat, Bobby and Simran has been covered in many articles and a well-done podcast titled “Sweet Bobby”, all of which you’ll find on the internet. But some things are uniquely South Asian about this story that have yet to receive the full attention it is due. Things that many know well from South Asian communities about being ‘good’, ‘doing the right things’, about pressure, expectations and a desire to be seen as we are. Or maybe, of being fake in order to be real. But that is all for later; for now, let’s go back to the beginning and where this all started, the place already mentioned: the Internet.