Ravi Vavilala, an Indian-origin man in Texas, said he had to remove a Ganesha statue from his home to make it appear generic to potential buyers.
Days after MAGA celebrated how real estate prices in Texas are falling as Indian H-1B jets begin leaving the US, a statement from Indian-American Ravi Vavilala has gone viral. In order to sell his house, Vavivala said, he removed Hindu religious symbols, including a Ganesha statue, from his house so that his house would appear generic to potential buyers.
In an interview with Bloomberg, he said he rented a place and took all his personal belongings.Favilala became a citizen after coming to the United States on an H-1B visa two decades ago. He purchased the home in late 2023 from Coventry Homes for $895,000. While being treated for stage 4 kidney cancer, he was laid off from his IT job in March of this year, along with most of his 80-person team, and put the house in Celina up for sale but didn’t receive much interest at first.Vavivala’s asking price started at more than $1 million, but after a few months, it dropped to $873,000, less than what he paid.“The buyers came and left within five minutes. We were really surprised. We called the realtor. After their comments, we felt a little uncomfortable because they were saying there was a lot of religious and personal stuff still there. We realized we had to make our house very, very public to attract all kinds of people,” Vavivala said, adding that he was willing to sell the house at a loss.
“No one will buy it except another Indian.”
This statement sparked a huge controversy as people commented that even when Hindus in Texas try to sell their homes, they are subjected to hatred. Texas, especially Dallas, has been the center of Hindu hatred in the recent past. City Council meetings are dominated by discussions of H-1B, and Indians’ cultural control of Texas — rather than their own local problems.Vavivala’s statement sparked the same reactions. “Indian man with house for sale in Frisco Texas removes Ganesha statue from his house to make it ‘public’. House has been sitting there for months with no offers. No one but another curry smelling Indian will buy it anyway. North Texas has had enough. This is not Mumbai. Keep it Texas Texas,” one hate comment read.Many have commented that while there are real cases of racism against Indians in the United States, this case was not one of them, and it is only advisable to remove all personal logos before showing the home to a potential buyer.
