Meet the Keswanis, America's new reality show family

We are nothing like the Kardashians says Vaishali Keswani 44 mom and manager of the new family thatrsquos wooing American audiences The Kardashians started off with a scandal We are just a modern family trying to live our lives in the public eye The Keswanis are stars of their own web series on Peoplecom Meet the Keswanis Dad Anil 46 is a physician the eldest child Nikhil aka Big Nik 17 is a popular Vine star he has around 27 million followers Sarina 15 is a beauty pageant contestant and model and Devina 6 formerly known as Dev is a transgender child transitioning every dayThe Keswanis Sarina Devina Vaishali Nikhil aka Big Nik and AnilWhile Anil is a second generation American born into a Sindhi family in New York Vaishali is a Gujarati from Uganda who moved to America in the rsquo90s After they were married in 1995 they settled down in Illinois Chicago A few years later they decided to move to California since their first born Nikhil suffered from Dwarfism and the cold weather wasnrsquot good for his bones Thank God we did that as the Chicago Indian community we lived in was very conservative But California is different everyone is liberal and accepting Little did we know we would need that kind of an atmosphere for Devina to grow up in as well says VaishaliTheir web show which is only three episodes old shows a family that seems almost shy to be in front of the camera except Nik and Devina that is They dance laugh and cry in front of millions of people They come across as likeable and relatively normal for a family on TV especially Devina who endearingly tells a friend that she wants to give a speech on why being transgender is alright I had a friend who liked me and now he doesnrsquot He teases me But itrsquos okay she says In one of the episodes Vaishali reveals that when Dev started talking it was feminine when he started walking it was feminine Then they knew this was the way it was going to be And we told her you never have to be Dev again she says Itrsquos because of Nik that the family is dealing with fame and all its trappings When his funny Vine videos about him behaving like a fool around the house started gathering followers three years ago Hollywood production houses came calling It was supposed to be a show just on him but then two years ago Devinarsquos transition came to light and the whole family came into the limelight says Vaishali Filming started two years agoUnlike the Kardashians whose existence relies on being famous and outrageous the Keswanis genuinely seem to be struggling with their unique family situation Anil has a troubled expression on his face as he sees his teenaged daughter wear a bikini for a pageant Vaishali is heartbroken when she talks of her son Dev now transitioning into Devina The show is essentially about accepting your children the way they are Itrsquos not the ideal situation but we are going to make this work says Anil adding The main aim is to protect them and we try not to sensationalise or dramatise anything There are rules in this that have to be followed Vaishali has a found a unique way of keeping the kids grounded She has introduced them to the Chinmaya International Foundation Sarina is also a Buddhist They know where to draw the line she says Our relatives were shocked but they have also realised there is no other way to beAs for the kids they are now experiencing a kind of fan following thatrsquos just adding to their confidence Nik who says he was often targeted on the Net for being a midget now feels that haters donrsquot matter at all The point is to say that one shouldnrsquot be shamed for being different And though itrsquos hard being short and always having joint pains being famous and well known has made it all easier Now I am in control of my life For Sarina who has become adept at not making the wrong friends the attention that comes from the show is an opportunity to do something with her life I want to be a singer Everyone wants to hang out with me but I know who my real friends are mdash the kind who will be around even when the fame isnrsquotAt the end of the day the Keswanis are just a modern family dealing with a very different set of problems Itrsquos as Nik puts it We donrsquot have a normal life actually a pretty abnormal one We have been through some crazy stuff and itrsquos just going to get crazier We have a lot of spice in our lives and thatrsquos the way we like it